Prismatic Edges
by daenabenjen42
Summary: Drabble series written for a drabble challenge...
1. Week One, UDC 4 - Han and Roganda

Title: Prismatic Edges: Drabble Series  
Timeframe: varies  
Characters: also varies (think clowns in a circus car)  
Disclaimer: Star Wars belongeth to other persons.  
Notes: This was done for a drabble challenge on another site.

* * *

Week 1 - 4/6/09 – UDC 4 (Han and Roganda Ismaren)

* * *

1. **Flash in the pan**

* * *

It felt wrong from the first moment, and as the moment stretched, it felt… still more wrong. Han's eyes widened and he slowly pulled away from her, shaking his head. "No."

"No, what?" Roganda wondered, perplexed at his reaction to her show of gratitude. It seemed the thing to do for this man whom she wasn't certain yet how to talk to. It had been a kiss, nothing more. "Solo?"

"We can't do this," he told her as he stood up, pushing away from the table. "Come on. Chewie's waiting."

As she followed him out, Roganda couldn't help but wonder…

* * *

2. **Out on a limb**

* * *

She met him as he returned to the Falcon, amused at his irritation. "I'm going to go out on a limb and say that it didn't go well."

Han brushed past her, shaking his head. "No. It didn't."

She watched him as he bent and looked at what Chewbacca was working on, and he started shaking his head. "Snow does nothing to muffle the yelling you two do." His sigh only added to her amusement. "And no. I don't think we have it fixed yet."

Han sighed again. He wanted to get off this snowball of a planet, not stay and fix things…

3. Out of the blue

Roganda was on top of the ship, working on a power coupling when a now-familiar voice caught her ear. The protocol droid… something about… she couldn't make out what he was saying and had to get up to look down. She found Solo talking to the droid, and the astromech. A feeling of shock hit her through the Force and she blinked as she watched the starship captain hurry off.

What had that been about? Getting down off the ship carefully, she went to find out. Something was wrong, or he wouldn't have gone off like that toward the command center.

* * *

4. **Wet behind the ears**

* * *

She hung back, waiting for the right moment to say something or be noticed. These people… they didn't take to newcomers easily. That was something she'd noticed on her first day in their presence. If you were wet behind the ears and it showed around hardened rebels, they knew something was off.

Careful to wait and be unobtrusive outside the medical suite, Roganda bided her time. She'd know soon enough… it was only a matter of time.

Suddenly, the door opened and someone came out. She moved to stop him, but came up short at the expression in his eyes. It could wait…

* * *

5. **Heat of the moment**

* * *

It was in the heat of the moment that she was glad to not have pushed him to return her feelings. Watching them from a distance as everyone celebrated, she saw the bonds formed over time revealed here, high among the trees. There was love, but it was for the small woman sitting next to him. She was the reason he had pulled away oh so long ago.

A small and furry hand nudged her knee and Roganda looked down to find one of the Ewoks looking at her inquisitively. She leaned closer and nodded, silently thanking him for the distraction.


	2. Week One, UDC 1 - Wes and Roganda

Week 1 (07.07.06) (UDC 1) – Wes Janson and Roganda Ismaren

* * *

1. **beginnings**

* * *

The beginning had been simple: she had looked up to find him watching her. A pilot in an orange flight suit with shadows and curiosity in his eyes. She patted the little Ewok on the shoulder and then stood up, meeting him half way. "Janson?"

The pilot shook his head and half-smiled at her. "Long day."

She nodded, sharing that sentiment. "It was. Did you…?"

He held out a hand to her, making a silent offer to join the others with him. Roganda stared for a long moment at his hand before hesitantly accepting the offer with a small smile.

* * *

2. **middles**

* * *

She was in the middle of reading a datapad when arms enfolded her from behind. "Careful, Janson."

"Why? You're only reading a datapad."

She sighed, leaned into him. "Nerves. Mine. On edge."

His breath tickled her ear. "Well then, we'll have to do something about that, won't we?"

"Not now."

"Why not?"

"This is important."

"So are you, dear lady."

For a moment, Roganda was tempted to set everything aside and just let him ravish her. The idea was sounding better by the minute… intelligence reports could wait a while, couldn't they? She smiled. "I'll be along in ten minutes."

"You better be."

* * *

3. **ends**

* * *

Pain was her reality as she strained, the sensation of hands firmly holding her registering only faintly on the edge of her awareness. As wave after cleansing wave of pain tore through her, Roganda thought of another time when she'd been in this same position, straining and clenching.

Soon enough, it was over and as the babe was placed into her arms, she smiled up at Wes. It was an end of her mourning… life had begun again. "What do you think?"

"Iriana?" Wes suggested after moments of awed silence.

Roganda gazed down at the babe in her arms. Yes… Iriana. "I like that."

* * *

4. **first**

* * *

Roganda followed along behind the party as they searched the Imperial palace on Coruscant, shadows of memory giving her pause at every corner. This had been her home… her son's first home. An image came to mind of her son playing in this very corridor and she wanted to turn around and leave the building. It was painful to think of him, even now.

A hand on her shoulder made her jump, startled. "I…"

"You don't need to stay," Janson told her. "You know that."

She nodded. "It's good to see this through."

He couldn't argue with that.

* * *

5. **last**

* * *

The last thing she expected was to see another Hand. Turning to face her companion, Roganda frowned. "That woman Skywalker is with…"

"What about her?" Wes asked as he scanned the room, finding his former squadron commander talking animatedly with a red-haired woman.

"I knew her."

"Oh… Do you want to go talk to her?"

"No." She smiled up at him. "Can I have this dance?"

Wes was torn between laughing and pushing her across the dance floor to talk to Mara… but knew she had reasons. "Of course." He took her hand and together they joined other couples on the floor.


	3. Week One, UDC 2 - Mara

Week 1 (09.24.07) (UDC 2)

* * *

1. **Smooth**

* * *

The inside of the container was smooth as she cleaned it carefully, inspecting it with her fingertips. It had to be smooth everywhere, and she wasn't allowed to look inside to find the imperfections. It would have been so much simpler if only she could have.

Feeling a wave of unspoken reproach at her longing to look rather than feel, Mara winced. Without even looking up at him, she knew he was frowning while he watched her from his throne chair.

She sighed noiselessly and continued the exercise, careful to shield her unruly thoughts better and more carefully.

* * *

2. **Rough**

* * *

It was on her third circle around the containers inner surface that she finally found a rough spot. It wasn't very big, maybe a centimeter across, but it was there. Now, she willed herself to look up at him, nodding once.

When he didn't say anything, she sighed again and continued to feel around the inner surface. Not two inches from that one, she felt another rough spot. Then another… Soon she began to lose count of the rough spots.

"Didn't think you'd find any, did you?"

"No." She saw his point as she pulled her arm out of the container.

* * *

3. **Dry**

* * *

"Is it dry, child?"

Mara blinked up at him, startled that he would ask. "I… yes."

"Are you certain?" He stared at her coolly with his eyes, unblinking until she reached back in and began again. "Didn't think so."

"Why…"

"Must you do this?" he finished for her.

"Yes."

"Let me worry about that."

She wanted to sigh longsufferingly and dramatically at his answer. It seemed to be the only answer he really ever gave… his way of saying to be patient when she least wanted to be patient. It wasn't wet, exactly, but it wasn't dry, either.

* * *

4. **Wrinkled**

* * *

Her first impression of the desert planet as she piloted her ship toward it after exiting hyperspace was that it looked… wrinkled. The surface of what had to be millions of sand dunes, craggy mountains, and deep valleys… reminded her of wrinkles. Was it possible for a planet to have wrinkles?

Thinking of wrinkles brought her master to the fore of her thoughts. That ever-present and reassuring weight in the back of her mind… Mara decided she liked that thought of wrinkled, ruined flesh and smiled slightly. It wasn't something she could tell him, but Tatooine, for all it's dust, reminded her of home and training.

* * *

5. **Weathered**

* * *

Dancing slowly in the arms of the man she loved, Mara felt at peace for the first time in far too long. As if, after being weathered and tanned and trained, she was at last… home, if that made any sense. She closed her eyes and let him lead, and they glided across the dance floor.

It made sense to her, anyway, and that was all that mattered. They'd both been weathered over time… experiences had led them here. To each other.

As she opened her eyes again and looked back at him, she smiled. It was worth it.


	4. Week One, UDC 3

Week 1 - 9/1/08 – UDC 3

* * *

1. **Happy**

* * *

It was to a happy laugh that she entered the dwelling and set her things down by the door. Following the sound of merriment to the kitchen, she found her brother and his houseguest eating dinner. "What's this?"

Her brother turned and looked at her. "She was telling me a story."

"Nothing much," the houseguest defended as she looked at her with raised eyebrows. "Drinking songs."

Somehow, she got the impression that was the entirety of it. "All right… can I join you?"

"Did you eat?" her brother asked as he started to get up.

"An hour ago. Sit."

* * *

2. **Sad**

* * *

Mara found him standing at a window in their apartment, staring out at the traffic pattern and immediately suspected something was off. "Luke?"

Luke slowly turned to her. "What?"

"Are you all right?"

He turned back to the window. "I guess… It's just hard."

Mara nodded and hugged him from behind. "A lot happened yesterday and it's only natural that you'd feel somewhat at a loss."

"She'll always be our little girl," Luke murmured as he relaxed into her arms.

"Yes. Talina will always be our little girl." Nothing else needed to be said of their now-married youngest child.

* * *

3. **Curious**

* * *

Dark Star scurried after the little creature, intent on catching it and batting it around with her paws. It was fast, but she was faster, and she caught it in two pounces. Holding it down with a paw, she sniffed at it, curious. It peered up at her with beady eyes, and she suddenly hissed.

The lizard turned up the next day at the foot of Mara's bed, where Mara stared at it, wondering who had left her a lizard. When it became a recurring theme, she realized that her companion had been on the prowl. And leaving gifts.

* * *

4. **Angry**

* * *

The sudden, heavy slam of metal on metal made him startle and jump. He turned around to look and found a fellow cadet staring hard at a locker, his body language just screaming frustration. Slowly, he approached, wary and tired from the day's workout. "You okay?"

"Just fine, Solo," the cadet grated out through clenched teeth. "Fine."

Standing there, watching as the cadet stormed off, Han didn't believe it for an instant that the other man was fine. Not one bit. Turning, he saw another cadet shaking their head slowly. It wasn't just him, then…

* * *

5. **Content**

* * *

Mara closed the door softly and just stood there for a moment, smiling. It wasn't often that she got a chance to reflect, and… reading a story to her child had been the perfect way to spend the evening. Turning, she found Luke watching her with a smile that lit up the hallway. Putting a finger to her lips, she took his hand and led him to their bedroom.

Not saying a word, because nothing needed to be said, she shut the door and kissed him all in the same motion. There was no talking for the rest of the night…


	5. Week Two, UDC 4 - Luke and Mara

Week 2 - 4/13/09 – UDC 4 (Luke and Mara)

* * *

6. **Impossible**

* * *

He sat in the cockpit of the Hunter's Luck, gazing out the view port. He didn't know what he was going to say or how to say it. Getting up, he sighed. Some things just couldn't be avoided, even if they seemed impossible to do right off.

He found her in the hold, inspecting the cargo studiously. "I think this was a mistake…"

She glanced at him. "How so?"

"I…"

"Luke, stop right there. I can feel your uncertainty from here." She frowned at him, then returned her attention to the manifest. "And it isn't."

"Isn't what?"

"Impossible."

* * *

7. **Unlikely**

* * *

"How can you know that?"

She didn't even turn to look at him as she answered. "Because, no matter how unlikely things seem, nothing is impossible. Just improbable." His chuckle made her smile. "Feel better now?"

"Some. Not impossible, hmm?"

"Nope. Not even if Leia were to declare it so."

He moved closer and peered over her shoulder. "Have everything?"

"I think so. Just checking it twice." At last satisfied, Mara set the list manifest down and turned to him, smiling. "What brought on the jitters, hmm?"

"Thinking too much."

"Ah. Can't have that, can we?" And with that, she kissed him.

* * *

8. **Reasonable**

* * *

It was a reasonable request for spare parts that had brought him to her apartment in the wee hours of the morning. Looking around her living room, he wondered what she needed the lightsaber parts for. He had no warning, other than a shiver that resonated for a half second, when she practically fell into his arms and landed on his lips with prescison.

No… it was very reasonable, if surprising, and he wasn't about to lodge a protest as he kissed her with as mush vigor as she was bestowing upon him.

* * *

9. **Probable**

* * *

"So," Luke said wryly as they lounged on her couch. "Did you really need lightsaber parts?"

Mara smiled at him. "It's probable that I will at some point, yes."

Luke laughed. So it had been a ruse to get him here… Not that he minded. He didn't. "Ah."

"Good cover, though, wasn't it?"

He nodded. "It was." Luke leaned closer to her. "Should I try that on you sometime, Mara?"

Her smile was the only reply he really needed as she let him draw her into his arms without protest. Not only did she get spare parts, but also a kiss or three…

* * *

10. **Definite**

* * *

Not all things were definite, she thought as she looked out the viewport after landing. Not even their safety together and apart. "Luke?"

"It's worth it, Mara," he said without even pausing to wonder what she'd been about to ask him. "All things are."

"You could at least let me ask first," she told him teasingly.

He snorted under his breath. "I could, but… didn't feel like it."

She shook her head and looked out the viewport again. He was right… it really was worth it. "Thanks."

"For what?"

"Being here and just being you, Luke. Makes this easier."


	6. Week Two, UDC 1 - Jaden Family

Week 2 (07.14.06) UDC 1 ( Jaden Family )

* * *

6. **hours**

* * *

It was hours to daybreak as she got out of bed, unable to sleep or shake off the events of the previous day. Her cot hadn't felt that inviting, anyway. As she stood at the entrance, Widia gazed out into the darkness, searching for the source of her unease.

Darkness looked back at her, mockingly, and she shook her head. This new kind of life they'd found themselves in just wasn't going to be easy. A hand on her shoulder, and she turned to find him standing there. Smiling with a sincerity she didn't feel, she let him guide her back inside. Away from the mocking darkness.

* * *

7. **days**

* * *

The days were long, longer now that they had to hide from Storm Troopers and prying eyes, Widia thought as she washed a dish after evening meal. She put it to the side, and picked up another one, sighing.

"Mommy?"

The little voice speaking from her side made a smile break out, and Widia set the dish down in the water before bending down and looking into her daughter's still-innocent eyes. "Yes, Jaelle?"

"This place is dusty," Jaelle told her, and then sneezed.

Widia chuckled under her breath and handed her a cloth napkin. "I know it is, sweetie. I know."

* * *

8. **weeks**

* * *

Temaru could feel her glare without even looking at her. He knew that if he did, he'd be sorrier than he was right now. "Widia…"

"Don't you even dare, Temaru," she growled at him as she covered her mouth and ran from the room.

He turned to watch her leave, and shook his head. A small hand pulled on his pant leg and he looked down at both his daughters. "Don't worry. She's fine."

"Just sick?" Jaelle asked.

"Yes. Just sick." It wasn't exactly a lie… but how could he explain a pregnancy to two children, both under the age of five?

* * *

9. **months**

* * *

Renna and Jaelle were playing a game in the shade outside the house while a couple people their parents had said were good people watched when their father, more tired than he should have been, came out. They stopped playing and ran to him, and Temaru dropped to his knees to hug them.

Jaelle frowned up at him. "Why tired, Daddy?"

"It's a good tired, Jaelle," he told her. "Time to come inside now." He stood up and led them inside, where they met their little brother for the first time.

"Little!" Renna squealed in delight. Widia smiled and looked at Temaru knowingly.

* * *

10. **years**

* * *

It had been years since she'd seen it, the house they'd left behind in the dead of night with only the clothing on their backs, a bag or two, and two small children in tow. Other than the burn damage and the scattered debris, the house was relatively intact. Relatively.

"We'll fix it," Jaelle told her as they stood out in front, looking at the structure. "Make it what it was."

Widia could only nod. There was so much she wanted to say, but the person she wanted to say it to… was gone. A sense brushed her from the Force, and she smiled. Or… not gone. Just out of reach.


	7. Week Two, UDC 2

Week 2 (10.01.07) UDC 2

* * *

6. **Jedi**

* * *

The Wookiee stood and watched as the small escape pod lifted off, and wondered what would become of the little Jedi Master. Would he be safe out there? Was what happened here with the clones an isolated incident?

The Wookiee didn't know, and as he turned to follow his clan leader, he glanced upward once more. He hoped the small one would be safe, even if it was not an isolated incident. Even if… the worst had happened, and it wasn't just here, but everywhere.

Time would tell, no more and no less.

* * *

7. **Sith**

* * *

He didn't feel the hand on his forehead as he lay there, breathing through the pain. The burning, ever present pain. He didn't feel the hand, but through clouded vision, he saw the dark figure… knew the person, even though he was lost in the flames.

A sense of coldness reached him through the fire that had consumed him, and he grabbed onto it. Held it fast like a drunkard would hold a caraf. The coldness smothered the flames but did not put them out… brought comfort where there had been only hurt and pain. Remembered pain. The pain of realization, of realized betrayal.

* * *

8. **Soldier**

* * *

He stood there, worn out, tired… and relieved. He'd gone and done what he had set out to do. He had brought his father back from the dark, and then his father had come back the rest of the way.

As Luke watched the flames consume the black armor and that which it encased, he didn't dare look away. He was here for his father, here to see it through, as the flames burned incandescent against the darkness and x-wings flew over head, releasing fireworks.

He nodded in agreement… it was a time for celebration as well as morning.

* * *

9. **Civilian**

* * *

As he clamored out of the land speeder and stumbled to a stop at the sight of the burning homestead, Luke stared. He didn't believe his eyes at first. Didn't want to believe that he knew what he saw lying on the ground at the entrance of the visible dome… but the more he stared, the less he could deny it.

Standing there, the wind buffeting him, Luke Skywalker's resolve hardened into iron. Now there was nothing, not one thing, stopping him from leaving, and he suddenly wanted his uncle to tell him that he had to stay.

* * *

10. **Politician**

* * *

He had been around more politicians than he cared to count, but this one… this girl intrigued him. She was secretive, and at differing times seemed to defer to her handmaiden. The same handmaiden every time, in fact.

In the hot sun as they prepared to go into the small town, he sighed and nodded. It didn't really surprise him that this particular handmaiden was joining them… maybe the Queen trusted her more than the others. Or… He glanced at her again. Maybe… she was the Queen herself? It would make sense if she was…


	8. Week Two, UDC 3

Week 2 - 9/8/08 - UDC 3

* * *

6. **Alderaan**

* * *

Jaina stared out at the asteroid debris from the relative safety of the control cabin on the Rock Dragon. She had her stories, and seen the remembered pain in her mother's eyes when she talked about old friends and family members… but this. Seeing it gave her a new perspective, in a way. Seeing it up close: the grave yard of Alderaan was a ring around a star, nothing more.

Except… it was more. More than it appeared. As she sat there and looked while Tenel Ka and Jacen chatted, Jaina nodded to herself. They were doing the right thing by being here.

* * *

7. **Yavin IV**

* * *

Han sat down at a table in the cafeteria, wanting some peace and quiet just for a moment after all the celebratory protocol. It was one thing to help them get to a place, entirely another to be instrumental in destroying a space station of the Empire he had served in, been a part of. He had possibly known more than one person aboard that station…

Shrugging that thought off, Han stared at his hands. Was it right to think of it that way? Former compatriots, friends… now only dust and scattered atoms up there in the skies over Yavin 4.

* * *

8. **Bespin**

* * *

As he came out of lightspeed and saw the gaseous planet for the first time, Luke felt his resolve harden. His friends were here, on a floating city in the clouds, in pain. That was all he needed to know. That it was a trap didn't matter… they needed him.

Punching a button on his control panel, he frowned. If this was a trap, where were the Star Destroyers lying in wait? He didn't need to see them to know they were here. It was a given that they were.

* * *

9. **Hapes**

* * *

Queen Ta'a Chume sat alone in her chambers, not wanting to show any weakness to her court. They would not blame her for it, but it would give them cause to doubt her ability to lead, to guide her people… and so she had waited to grieve in private for her loss.

Her son… her oldest son was dead. Her child… and this rabble of a court would have seen her anguish. She could not have that. Not at all. There were so many things she could not have…

* * *

10. **Dagobah**

* * *

The small Jedi Master looked up through the mists at stars he could barely make out in the night sky. He knew they were there, remembered what they looked like, but it had been so long… a part of him yearned to be out there among them with his student who was knowingly flying into a trap, but his place was here now.

There was hope… a small hope. A fool's hope, as it were, that all was not lost. Maybe a fools hope was all he needed to believe right then and there.

There was another. Another hope…


	9. Week Three, UDC 4

Week 3 - 4/20/09 – UDC 4

* * *

11. **Truth**

* * *

It hurt to look at her. Hurt in a way that he hadn't thought possible… inside, deep inside. Everything she had said was true, right down to how he had taught that first group of students. For long moments, he stared at the swarm passing underneath them in the darkness of the tunnel, trying to think.

"Hey," she said, interrupting his thoughts. He looked at her only to find compassion. He nodded and held her hands a little firmer. Truth was everything, was it not?

"Thanks."

"For what?" Mara asked slowly, drawing out the moment.

"Saying what I needed to hear."

* * *

12. **Trust**

* * *

"Are you sure this will work?"

"There's no reason it shouldn't."

"So there's a small chance that it won't, hmm?"

"Look, if you want to turn around and go home, you can. You don't have to stay here just to see if this works."

The woman paused, watching him as he finished the device he was working on and inspected it carefully. "No… I trust you. And I want to see if it works like it's supposed to."

He glanced at her, shrugged. "If you say so."

"Besides… you can't have all the fun of getting caught by the Imperials by your lonesome."

* * *

13. **Honor**

* * *

"Is it worth it?"

The question startled him and he turned to stare at her. "Is what worth it?"

"The mission."

He waited for her to say more, but she just looked at him, daring him to explain himself. Explain what was so important. "Of course it is. It's important for the same reason one gets up in the morning and faces the day. We are honoring those we have lost."

"How is this mission honorable? It's theft."

"Does honor have to make sense?"

She smiled and shook her head. "Not always."

* * *

14. **Loyalty**

* * *

Waking up had never been so painful in her life… there was a gaping hole inside. Gaping for the absence of him, her master. Gaping and wide open and aching at the edges. When the medic standing over her looked her straight in the eyes, he had to resist taking a few steps back at the emptiness reflected there.

She heard her name fall from his lips, but could not bring herself to respond. Everything she knew, her loyalties… everything felt dead. He was dead. She did not have to ask any questions. She knew.

* * *

15. **Love**

* * *

It had been so long since she'd last allowed herself to love someone that the realization nearly bowled her over as she watched him clean the kitchen counter. Was it right to admit it, even to herself? It felt right, even if her immediate reaction was to slam the door on the emotion and never ever voice it.

"You can set those water glasses down, you know," he said as he turned and looked at her with an easy smile. She blinked at him for a moment before doing just that and putting them in the sink. Was it just possible that he felt the same way?


	10. Week Three, UDC 1 - Colors to Remember

Week 3 (07.21.06) (UDC 1) – Colors to Remember…

* * *

11.** red**

* * *

The first memory she has of her mother is of the color red. Red like fire and it is the first thing that captures her full attention as she reaches out and catches a tiny handful of it, curious. Curious to know what the stringy substance is… and then a rumbling chuckle and unfamiliar words reach her untrained ears.

"No, little one. You can not have my hair."

As the red srings retreat from her grasp, she does thing only thing she can: make her displeasure known to the world. Soon, the red returns, and with it, a cooing voice to sooth her.

* * *

12. **grey**

* * *

She stood by the book case, staring at her grey stuffed animal. Had it always been this grey? It was hard to recall… "Dad?"

"Yes?" he asked from the doorway.

"Was Nebula always this grey?"

"Used to be whiter," he told her as he smiled and left her to it.

As she sat down on her bed and ignored the mess she'd made, she continued to stare at the stuffed animal. So much had happened, and time had passed, and white had faded to grey… "I'm going to clean you up. Today."

Nebula only answered her with knowing and awkward silence.

* * *

13. **white**

* * *

It wasn't the white she'd expected. Not crisp, and clean, and new… but an off-white. Cream, almost. She set it on her bed and inspected it from every angle to see if there were any spots she had missed. Not seeing any smudges or imperfections, she nodded in satisfaction. "Better." She turned to find her mother standing in the doorway, and tried to smile.

"All cleaned up?" her mother asked with a somber smile.

She nodded. "Yes."

Her mother nodded and held out a hand. "Come on, then. Dinner."

"Can Nebula eat with us tonight?"

A pause… "Of course."

* * *

14. **black**

* * *

She had never seen a creature like it before as she laid, snug in her mothers arms, and watched as it jumped and landed on the chair arm. It was black with a patch of white on it's chest… with golden eyes that were curious as it sniffed her.

Her mother tilted her toward the creature for a better look, and the creature sniffed once more and then jumped down to the floor again. She laughed and her mother looked down at her, smiling contentedly. "I think she likes you, little one."

* * *

15. **blue**

* * *

Who was this person her mother had handed her to? All she knew for the present was that she liked his clear blue eyes. He seemed nice as he met her silent stare with his own confusion.

How long they stared at one another, she didn't know, but they were interrupted by a familiar chuckle. "Luke, she's probably more confused than you."

The man with the blue eyes blinked and nodded. "True. Hello, little one." And then he touched her in her mind and she let out a laugh again. "So precious."

"Yes. She is."


	11. Week Three, UDC 2 - Jaden Family

Week 3 (10.08.07) (UDC 2) (Jaden Family…)

* * *

11. **Mother**

* * *

Widia stared at the tiny wailing infant in her arms, at a loss for how to deal with this situation. She'd fed the little one, burped her, changed her diaper… what was left? Or did she just want to cry for hours on end? Slowly she rocked back and forth where she sat, singing a song quietly that she'd heard at the temple.

The wails tapered off and the baby looked up at her curiously as she sang. Widia smiled, admiring her red tufts of hair… and kept right on singing. "The little bantha, lost on the plains…"

* * *

12. **Father**

* * *

Temaru entered their bedroom to find Widia singing and stopped in the doorway to watch and listen. How simple things seemed, and how complicated… He didn't want to interrupt her with ill-gotten news. Not like this.

She glanced over at him and motioned with her head to join them, and he did. He ran a finger over the tufts of hair in wonder. "It's not good."

"No, it isn't," he admitted.

"Can it wait?"

"Yes."

Widia nodded and began singing again, soothing Temaru's nerves with each verse of the Bantha song. "Lost on the plains, seeking to find, striving ever outward…"

* * *

13. **Sister**

* * *

The records hadn't been easy to find, not even with her medical clearance. As Jaelle sat there and considered what she'd found, she began shaking her head. So many years, so many clues… and here it was in black and white. Their family had felt whole, always felt like a unit. Together… but it hadn't been, had it?

Had they just been blind to the gaping hole that should have been filled by an older sister? It sure felt like it. Glancing up and looking around, she was still shaking her head. It made sense. To her, at least.

* * *

14. **Brother**

* * *

This was his third coat of paint. As he stared at the walls, taking in the bright yellows and light greens, Torath shook his head. He didn't like the combination. Or… was it the information that had been a shock that he didn't like? That stopped him for a moment, and he glanced down at the extra paint cans. Alena had wanted yellow, he'd wanted green. They'd agreed to a compromise… which looked awful.

Picking up his paint brush, Torath sighed. Maybe it was both things he didn't like… and maybe light yellow would work better… or blue. They both liked blue…

* * *

15. **Friend**

* * *

Three days after Renna showed up at her front door appearing more upset than she'd ever seen her, Widia answered the door to find an unfamiliar young man standing there, an expression of concern in his eyes. "May I help you?"

"Is Renna Jaden here?"

Widia frowned, studying him. "Yes…"

"May I see her?"

Still wary, but swayed by the compassion in his eyes, she nodded and stepped aside to allow him entry. Interesting… "She's sleeping."

"I just want to see her, Ma'am."

Polite, too. Whoever this young man was, she liked him already. "This way, then."


	12. Week Three, UDC 3 - Wave Rangers

Week 3 - 9/15/08 - UDC 3 - Wave Ranger Interlude

* * *

11. **On the Fly**

* * *

Energy around them faded out and they were left in a clearing... a very familiar clearing in a valley. Ranko looked around in confusion, and then turned to Peter with wide eyes. "This looks like home."

Peter nodded. "It does."

"Ranko!" a familiar voice rang out and Ranko turned to find Toby running to her. A very young Toby... and she saw a teenage Melissa staring at them from across the clearing.

Ranko had just enough time to feel absolutely shocked before Toby descended on her with questions. How early were they? She'd soon find out.

* * *

12. **Sink or Swim**

* * *

"What's going on?" Susan wondered as Ranko finally pulled herself away from Toby's endless questions. "I remember Toby being much taller."

"We're earlier than we should have been is what's going on, Sue," Ranko muttered. She glanced down at Susan and smirked. "I wonder what Mom will say when she finds out you ended up in a battle zone?"

"What?"

"Like I said. We are very early..."

Susan stared at her. "How early?"

"We get to kick Yeerk butt with impunity."

"Oh." Susan watched as Melissa came over to them and pulled Ranko away, saying something about a journal.

* * *

13. **Rock the Boat**

* * *

Tom listened intently as a plan of action was laid out and argued over by Melissa, Ranko, and Toby. At varying times, other members of the group got a word in, but he couldn't help wondering if the plan would even work.

Someone touched his arm and he looked to find Elsie smiling at him. "What?"

"Don't worry about the plan."

"Why not?"

"No battle plan survives contact with the enemy."

Tom blinked at that and suddenly wanted to laugh. She had a good point. "So this is pointless?"

"Not really. Planning something and actually doing it can just be different things at times. Like cooking."

"Ah. Thanks."

"Anytime."

* * *

14. **Get Over It**

* * *

"You are not going to be part of this plan," Peter muttered to her as the meeting broke up and Ranko started to follow Melissa and Tom to help fill in more of that journal. "Help with the plan all you want, but..."

She looked at him as he shook his head. "Peter, you're being a little too over protective, you know."

"I'm your husband," he reminded her. "I have a license to say that."

She rolled her eyes as she walked away, having no intention of staying out of anything. He didn't have to like it and he'd get over it.

* * *

15. **Under the Gun**

* * *

Ryan had just completed a prepping task for the plan when Ranko pulled him aside. "Can't this wait? I've got three more to do."

Ranko shook her head. "No. Do you think you can talk Katie into taking a nap?"

He stared at her. "Why?"

"We need her really, really rested and ready to go."

Ryan wanted to laugh outright, but the hardness in her eyes made him take the bizarre request seriously. "It's that important?"

"I wouldn't be asking such a thing otherwise."

"I'll see what I can do."

Ranko watched him walk off to find his girlfriend and smiled. The more firepower, the better...


	13. Week Four, UDC 4 - Shmi Skywalker

Week 4 - 4/27/09 - UDC 4

* * *

16. **Gaze**

* * *

She was taking a small break in between tasks and letting her attention wander to the open doorway through which the sun shone brightly, when a man walked into the shop. He was handsome, but rugged and dressed like a farmer. Tall, but only just.

He stood there for a long moment, looking around, and then their eyes met and he smiled slightly. "Can you help me? I'm looking for a particular part and got the advice to come here."

Shmi blinked in surprise only for a moment. Then she nodded and went to find Watto.

* * *

17. **Wink**

* * *

Watto was a sly old being. Smart enough to know when humans were hiding something, and he got that feeling every time that farmer came back needing something else. It almost seemed to him that the farmer was making excuses just to come... and as he turned to see Shmi cleaning a part with an unfamiliar smile, he thought he knew at least part of the reason. "Shmi?" She looked up at him in silent question. "You may go for the day."

Shmi nodded. "You don't want me to finish this one?"

He winked at her. "After that one is done."

* * *

18. **Distance**

* * *

Cliegg looked out across the sand, peering into the distance to see anything at all that would lead them directly to her. They'd followed the Bantha tracks a fair way, but... he was startled when someone laid a hand on his shoulder. "What?"

"We'll find her," his friend promised. "She's out there."

Cliegg nodded, wanting to believe those words. It just... felt so hopeless. She had gone out in the early morning, just like always. How was this time any different? Should he have gone out with her? He wished he had.

* * *

19. **Cold as Ice**

* * *

She had never felt so cold as she laid in her son's arms, happy to see him at last. He had come, he had come. For her. He had come all this way, and grown so much, and she couldn't help but smile as she lifted a trembling hand to cup his cheek. Her Ani was here. Her Ani was here.

The coldness began to overwhelm her, and her vision began to dim, and he looked about to cry for some reason. Her son had come, and he was here, and she got to see him. That was all that mattered.

* * *

20. **Eternal Flame**

* * *

Owen didn't know what to say as they sat down to supper that night. His father's eyes were hooded, pain showing through in his posture in a way that Owen had never seen before. They'd all lost someone... a mother, a wife, and a friend. Shmi had been all those things to them.

He glanced across the table at Beru as she passed him a dish, and she shook her head. She was right. For tonight... tonight was a time of remembrance. Tomorrow they would talk. He just wished Anakin and Padme had stayed just a while longer and not had to leave...


	14. Week Four, UDC 1 - Renna and Samir

Week 4 (07.28.06) (UDC 1) (Renna and Samir)

* * *

16. **friends**

* * *

She sighed as she stepped off the refurbished transport and looked around. After so long, for there to be peace... for the reconstruction to start. She still wasn't certain how to react and it had been weeks since the cease fire. Someone tapped her on the shoulder and she turned, trying to smile at the young man standing there. "It's just..."

He shook his head. "You don't have to explain, Renna. I think we all feel that way to some degree."

"Even you, Samir?"

He nodded. "Even me. Shall we go and see what there is to do?"

"Sounds like a plan..."

* * *

17. **enemies**

* * *

At first glance, he wasn't much to look at. Just a grunt in the resistance, to be ignored in general. She didn't even want to talk to him, and wouldn't have if he hadn't offered to help her clean a difficult piece of equipment.

As she watched him, listening to his easy chatter, Renna couldn't resist the urge to smile. He certainly was friendly... and likeable. When he glanced her way, she forced herself to frown. Couldn't be giving him the wrong idea now, could she? "Are you done, yet?"

"I could have let you struggle with it some more," he muttered.

* * *

18. **lovers**

* * *

It had started so simply: she had woken up screaming again and had adamantly refused to talk about it. Instead, she had accepted his arms as comfort and they'd just lain on his bedroll for more than an hour, watching the stars in the night sky.

He had nearly nodded off to sleep when she'd turned and kissed him harder than anyone else ever had. Their eyes met, and he saw the need... "Are you?"

"Do you even need to ask?" And then she kissed him again.

No. No, he did not need to ask. He kissed her in return.

* * *

19. **family**

* * *

Torath frowned when he looked into his sister's room to find a man sleeping on the floor beside her bed. What in the world...? He was stopped from saying anything to wake either when his mother pulled him all the way to the living room by his arm. "Who was that?"

Widia sighed. "He is a friend of Renna's, Torath."

"Sleeping on the floor?"

"I tried to offer him a bed in another bedroom, but he refused. Said the floor was just fine with him."

"Oh." Torath glanced back down the hallway. He liked that explanation.

* * *

20. **strangers**

* * *

Samir said nothing as he watched the new group of resistance recruits eat. Two young girls, a young boy, and what appeared to be their parents. Ordinarily, he'd have welcomed them, but something made him stop and just watch. He wasn't certain what it was, but there was something different about them.

The mother looked up and noticed him watching, and smiled. She nodded to him and then resumed eating. He nodded back in kind. Maybe not so different... he'd seen his own mother greet someone just that way, as well.


	15. Week Four, UDC 2

Week 4 (10.15.07) (UDC 2)

* * *

16. **Shuttle**

* * *

It was in hyperspace that she finally allowed herself to relax, however slight the actual relaxing was. She glanced at the man seated in pilot chair and had to wonder what was on his mind, what he was thinking at that particular moment.

"Not much," he muttered. Then he blinked and looked up at her. "You didn't say anything, did you?"

She shook her head. "No." They stared at one another for long moments, realization setting in as both realized what had just happened.

"Well," Luke said after a very long silence. "This is new..."

* * *

17. **Fighter**

* * *

The small TIE fighter circled the ship, its pilot's eyes trained and searching for anything they might have missed. Anything that might put anyone else in danger. It wasn't a big ship, but it was imposing.

Satisfied after long minutes of study, the pilot commed his wingmen to tell them he was going in, and then he did just that. He took it as a good sign that no one shot back from the visible turrets on the hull. Had it not been for the cutting off of a distress call from Trandoshan's...

* * *

18. **Freighter**

* * *

He docked carefully with the Freighter, on guard for anything out of the ordinary. Anything at all that did not belong. Getting out of his TIE, he took his helmet off and tested the air. The air was thin, breathable, but not wanting to take chances he kept his helmet with him.

The first sign of anything amiss is a dead Trandoshan in the corridor outside the docking port. And then another, and Wookiees... there were Wookiees here. Making his way to the cockpit, he found one breathing. Out cold, but definitely breathing. Alive. Gently, Han Solo raised the head to look at him.

* * *

19. **Capital Ship**

* * *

Admiral Ackbar watched as the Imperial ship, the largest one, the one named Executor, perished in a ball of fire as it dived nose first into the outer skin of the second Death Star. They had been fighting a losing action, and then everything had seemed to turn around in a matter of seconds. Minutes.

He sat back, drained, and just watched for a moment. A moment was all that could be spared in the middle of this... chaos. There was no time to reflect. That would come later, he knew. If there was a later.

* * *

20. **Space Station**

* * *

The stare from beneath the dark cowl was cold and hard at the news of the space station's destruction. He did not want to be standing here, having delivered such news, with nothing to say but what had happened. Especially not to his Master.

Palpatine rose from his throne and walked around him slowly, calculating. "Hold out your arm." When he hesitated, the stare got colder. He knew his arm was mechanical, that it could be replaced... but something in the other man's voice made him hesitate. Knowing it was better to comply than to refuse, Vader held out his arm.


	16. Week Four UDC 3

Week 4 - 9/22/08 - propmts provided by KELIA (UDC 3)

* * *

16. **Bantha**

* * *

It was just before dawn as she prepared to go out and pick mushrooms off of the vaporators. Pausing at the door, Shmi wondered if going this morning was the right thing... they'd heard Banthas lowing the night before, and they'd been close. Very close. Cliegg had not told her not to go, just that they needed to be cautious. Like always.

Reaching a hand into her pocket, Shmi smiled at finding her journal recorder. Without further reflection, she picked up a basket and headed out. There were mushrooms that needed picking and they weren't going to pick themselves.

* * *

17. **Dewback**

* * *

The stormtrooper scanned the horizon from his mount, a Dewback that had seemed to have fallen asleep underneath him. At least... it wasn't grunting like it had been.

For a moment he thought he saw something shiny what seemed like miles off, and then it vanished again. Could that have been one of the droids they were looking for? No... it had vanished too swiftly. Or it could have been a mirage... it was warmer out here than he was used to so a mirage or his imagination wouldn't have been out of the question.

* * *

18. **Eopie**

* * *

The little girl frowned at the odd creature. She'd seen many creatures in her short life, but never one like this. And did it just fart? "What is this, Momma?"

"It's an Eopie," her mother told her with a chuckle.

"Funny name for it."

"Yes. It is."

She looked up at her mother just in time to see a smile cross her lips. "Why'd we come all the way out here?"

"I wanted to see one because your father finds them funny, too." She paused for a moment, and then chuckled again. "He's right. They are."

* * *

19. **Tauntaun**

* * *

Everything smelled bad. As he sat in the shelter, listening to the icy wind howl outside, that thought kept circling through his mind. It smelled awful. The insides of a Tauntaun were not meant to be on the outside. Ever.

Han glanced at the creature that had brought him all the way out here in search of his young friend... who was now laying beside him, unconscious and as close to that creature as he could be. Sure, it smelled bad, but it was worth it. Worth it because along with the smell had come warmth.

* * *

20. **Wampa**

* * *

He studied the lacerations on Luke's face, grateful to have found him when he had. Grateful that Threepio had asked a seemingly stupid question. Grateful that he had come charging out here on a Tauntaun in search of his friend who had become almost like a little brother.

Luke moved and groaned a little and Han put a hand on his arm. "It's okay, kid. I'm here. I'm here." He wasn't sure if he was saying it for Luke's benefit, or to sooth his own nerves. Maybe it was both.


	17. Week Five, UDC 4

Week 5 - 5/4/09 - UDC 4

* * *

21. Steps

* * *

Mara smiled as her daughter held on to her hand. She was standing and smiling right back, and then she let go and treated Mara to a first. Her first steps. Then she set down hard on her bottom and looked up at Mara, still smiling.

Mara bent down and picked her up. "Good girl. Want to try again for Daddy?"

The little girl nodded. "Da!"

"Then let's go find him, shall we?" And so, Mara took her on a small person hunt through the apartment before ending up in the study where Luke was pouring through teraquads of data.

* * *

22. Stride

* * *

"We want to show you something," Mara said by way of interrupting him. He looked up at her, confused for a moment.

Luke blinked several times as she set their daughter on the floor and let her stand on her own. He nearly forgot to breathe as she took several steps toward him, stopped, looked up at Mara, and then took some more. He got up out of his chair, went around his desk, and caught her just as she began to fall. "That was..."

"Amazing?" Mara prompted.

"It was. It is."

* * *

23. Stumble

* * *

He picked the little girl up and held her and she laughed. "Thank you, Mara."

Smiling again, Mara joined them in a hug. It hadn't been huge strides, but it certainly was a milestone. "Feels like only yesterday we were stumbling our way to each other, doesn't it?"

"Yesterday and forever ago," he told her honestly. "But... stumbling?"

"Felt that way at times," she clarified before tickling the little one and getting a laugh in return. "Supper will be ready in a little while, so don't bet too caught up in those records."

"I won't."

Mara neatly plucked their daughter out of his arms, and left him to it.

* * *

24. Leap

* * *

Leia was practicing leaping around the grand ballroom of the palace when Bail found her. He stood in the doorway and watched as she twirled and danced, and couldn't help but smile at the grace and fluidity of her movements. It was times like this, when she was relaxed, that she most reminded him of Padme at her best.

In his mind's eye, he could still see the woman he'd known, strong and alive. Watching Leia made the memory more vivid... and for a moment he thought he saw Padme herself on the other side of the ballroom, watching Leia with a smile of her own.

* * *

25. Fall

* * *

They had never talked about it. They didn't need to. Or want to. But as the young man they'd raised together who was very nearly their own son left the dinner table in a huff, Beru stared across at her husband silently. They had never talked about it, and because of that, there were things that neither were prepared to explain to their nephew. The why of Owen's refusal to just let him go to the Academy was one of those...

They had never talked about it, but now Beru wanted to, though she knew what the answer would be.


	18. Week Five, UDC 1 - The Senses

Week 5 (08.04.06) (UDC 1)

* * *

21. **smell**

* * *

The arrangement on the small table was so colorful that it just drew her in like a magnet. She stood up carefully and looked at it, smiling a toothy smile as she reached and touched one of the pink blossoms. She startled as it suddenly moved toward her, seemingly of it's own accord. "Gah!"

"It's all right," her mother's voice told her from next to her ear. "Go ahead and smell, little one."

Confused, she leaned forward and sniffed. Then she turned and grinned at her mother. "Nice!"

Her mother smiled down at her. "Yes. Very nice."

* * *

22. **sound**

* * *

There was a soft light shining in the darkness as she levered herself up to stand and look around. It wasn't bright like in the daytime, this room they called hers. There was no one here to see her, to pick her up and carry her around no noise... just quiet and dark.

She let out a warble of sound, and giggled. Here, in the darkness, she was alone for what had to be the first time... she called out again, smiled, and then sat back down in her crib again. Aloneness was something different to add to her new experiences.

* * *

23. **touch**

* * *

Leia stormed into the apartment, throwing her things down with such a clatter that Han joined her in the entryway and waited silently while she picked up her things again and stood up. She met his gaze with a frown as he moved to take the items out of her hands and set them down. Then he cocked a curious eyebrow at her, questioning.

Not wanting to talk about it, Leia shook her head. Han nodded and pulled her into an embrace. It was exactly what she needed when she most needed it.

* * *

24. **taste**

* * *

It was salty, and crunchy. The noise of the chip crunching as she chewed made her smile. It reminded her of something, but she wasn't certain what... had she ever had chips before? She wasn't certain.

"Good snack, Mara?" Palpatine asked, something in his tone catching her attention. Almost... cautious. Wary.

Mara nodded. "They're crunchy!"

"That's good."

"Palpat?"

"Yes?"

"What about the other ten boxes?"

"Let me worry about that."

She frowned at him. "They're something to worry about?"

"Not exactly," he answered noncommittally. "Still wondering where they came from."

"Why is that bad?"

He pursed his lips, looked away, and chose not to answer her.

* * *

25. **sight**

* * *

The first thing he saw upon regaining his sight was a very blurry form being pushed off the plank of the skiff, turning as it fell, and somersaulting back onto the deck of the skiff. And then a very familiar sound: a lightsaber. Luke had a lightsaber! Where had he gotten it from if Jabba's guards would have taken it away from him...?

Deciding to just be grateful for the small things, Han sighed in relief as his hands were soon freed and he could do more than just be a stationary target.


	19. Week Five, UDC 2 - Anakin Skywalker

Week 5 (10.22.07) (UDC 2)

* * *

21. **Burn**

* * *

The burning of the lava was an afterthought as he stared at the man on the shore of the burning river. Looking at one he'd called friend... and teacher. He wasn't dwelling on it, the relationship between them was as dead as the landscape around them. An ember flickered in the back of his mind as he prepared to jump, not listening to the warning about the high ground. He didn't care.

He simply wanted to end it. Be done. For good or ill... what ever that might mean. He saw only the man on the shore.

* * *

22. **Rash**

* * *

The burning had been nothing to him. An afterthought. Now, as he lay in the dirt mere inches from the edge, it was everything. It had consumed him. It was a never-ending, living torment. And now, as he lay there, helpless to help himself, thought was elusive and the burning seemed to never end.

A hand entered his vision and he saw its owner out of the corner of his eye. A cooling nothingness enveloped him, and he was swept into darkness. Help had come... to save him from his rash, dark, and impulsive path.

* * *

23. **Surgery**

* * *

Pain greeted him on returning to consciousness. Pain that made the burning seem merciful. A jerking in his arm, and he knew what was going on, though all he saw was a bright light above. It was all he could do to scream as new limbs were attached. It was then that he remembered that he had lost more than a duel with his former teacher and friend.

He had lost that which he had sought to keep and protect. To honor. To love. As another limb was put in place, he didn't even try to fight it.

* * *

24. **Hurt**

* * *

Staring out at where his son was clinging with one hand, he saw something familiar. Padme's spirit was in those eyes as the boy gave the answer he should have given so long ago. He reached out, tried to talk Luke back onto the catwalk in the only way he knew... and watched as he let go, falling rather than giving in to what was offered.

He watched until the young man was out of sight, then turned on his heel and went to get his shuttle. Luke might not want to join him, but he was badly hurt.

* * *

25. **Heal**

* * *

In the darkness of the Ewok village, he stood and nodded as Luke noticed them after being greeted back into the circle of friends. Holding his gaze for several long moments, Anakin nodded, smiling as Leia came to draw him back to the celebration. He hadn't been looking for it before, but he could see his wife in her now.

A hand on his intangible arm made him look away to find her standing there, a pained but comforting smile on her lips. "Come on, Ani. Time to go."

With one last glance, he nodded. It was.


	20. Week Five, UDC 3 - Leia

Week 5 - 9/29/08 - UDC 3

* * *

21. **Wood**

* * *

The wooden practice staff was cool to the touch, hard and inviting as she picked it up and inspected it curiously. Leia knew what this could do to another. Her teacher had lectured implicitly before he'd even allowed her to look at the equipment, let alone touch it.

Touching it was different than looking at it. Touching the staff, she could understand why he had lectured. If she swung it around, she could hurt someone. It was about power and how to handle that power when it was handed to her.

She turned and faced her instructor, and with a nod, they began.

* * *

22. **Metal**

* * *

The metal made a loud clanging noise where the staff had not, Leia reflected as she put the sword away in it's case as she'd been shown. And where the other was blunt and safe, this was sharp and dangerous.

"What have you learned?"

She turned to face her instructor, unsure of how to answer that same question that he always asked at the end of each session. Was she supposed to have learned something new? She didn't know. "That life is sacred."

He nodded. "That's a good start."

She frowned as he left the room. A good start?

* * *

23. **Cloth**

* * *

The cloth of her senatorial dress felt confining as she awoke to a blaster pointed into her face by a masked Imperial Stormtrooper. The synthesized voice eminating from his helmet betrayed nothing as he urged her to get up.

Slowly she got to her feet and used the time to survey her surroundings. Finding no means of escape that were useful, she sighed internally as the trooper poked at her with his blaster to get moving. She could do nothing else but grudgingly obey.

* * *

24. **Glass**

* * *

Standing at the window and looking out at the clouds brought on a sense of homesickness so strong that she had to put a hand on the glass to steady herself. The vivid colors of the sunset a ringing reminder of the world she'd lost to war, her people, her family... AT-AV.

For a few moments, she allowed herself to grieve for the lost. It was all she could allow, even here, for soon Chewie entered the room and barked a question she didn't really understand.

* * *

25. **Stone**

* * *

As she stood on the stone dias in the grand audience chamber and watched two men and a Wookiee marched toward her in ceremonial fashion, Leia heard again in her mind that long ago often repeated question: "What have you learned?"

She thought she knew the answer now, even if it didn't seem like it should have been the right one. Sure as she was standing on a jungle moon and celebrating a victory, Leia knew this answer: she had learned that all life was sacred, that all beings needed defense at one point or another... and to survive. She wondered what her teacher would have said in reply.


	21. Week Six, UDC 4 - Mara and Lando

Week 6 - 5/11/09 - UDC 4 (Tarma-Verse: Mara and Lando)

* * *

26. **Gallant**

* * *

It should have been a simple mission: go to the floating city, get in, meet with the administrator over something or other, do the job she'd been sent to do. It should have been simple. As she stared at the ceiling in the wee hours of the morning, feeling the pull across the distance of her Master wanting a word, she realized it wasn't as simple as it had appeared.

She had never met someone so... gallant... before. So charming. Feeling the pull intensify, Mara sighed and got out of the bed. She had to answer... how, she didn't know.

* * *

27. **Filial**

* * *

She found a quiet place in the main room of the apartment suite and opened herself up, finally answering the pull that had gotten stronger as the moments passed. Master.

Is it done? he asked without preamble.

Mara did not hesitate as she looked back at the familiar face from a distance. It is. After all... in a way, it was done. In a way.

Good. Stay there and wait for further orders.

The weight disappeared so suddenly that she was left gasping in the dawning light of the apartment, knowing she had lied to protect another... one she'd only known for mere hours.

* * *

28. **Vexation**

* * *

He found her sitting at a window, looking out and appearing to be lost in thought. "I thought you'd left."

She shook her head but did not look at him. "No. Just needed a minute or two."

He sat beside her. "Nera?"

"It's Mara," she told him shortly as she turned and looked at him fully. "I at least owe you that much."

Lando stared at her. "Mara..."

"My name isn't important. That you live is." She paused, studying him. "Can you falsify records?"

"I can. Why?"

She turned again and looked out the window. "I told a lie for you. Now you have to tell one for me."

* * *

29. **Sublime**

* * *

His wedding day was hardly what he had ever expected it to be. No grand audience to serve as witness, no decorations... nothing but the two of them, their month's-old baby girl, and a holy man. He had expected something more grand, sublime in nature, but as his new bride leaned into him with a kiss, he knew that none of that mattered. They were together, the three of them.

"I love you, Lando," she whispered as she stared up into his eyes. For the first time, he truly believed in her sincerity. And maybe that was sublime in and of itself.

* * *

30. **Superficial**

* * *

The child had fled the room after only a minute when he glanced at her, eyebrows raised. "We're not fighting, and yet..."

Mara laughed. "I wouldn't worry about it, dear one. She feels what floats around on the surface between us." She put her arm around Lando's shoulder. "All that tension, you know."

Lando smiled at her. "Tension?"

Mara nodded. "Yes. Massage my shoulders?"

"If it will get that tension out..." He trailed off as she kissed him tenderly.

"I think it will," she whispered as they parted. Then she winked at him. "It definitely will."


	22. Week Six, UDC 1

Week 6 (08.11.06) (UDC 1)

* * *

26. **water**

* * *

The water slipped easily between her fingers as she tested it, making certain the temperature was right. Smiling in satisfaction, Mara turned and picked up a sponge and then wetted it.

A babbled, wordless question drew her attention to her son, laying in his carrier. She smiled again and then put the sponge to his nose so he could see it. "Time to get clean, hmm?"

Ben's response was a giggle at the odd-looking green thing with what looked like holes. It was dripping. What did that have to do with getting clean?

* * *

27. **fire**

* * *

As she lay there in the cell, Leia didn't dare move for the longest time. Every nerve ending had burned and screamed and felt like she'd been burning alive. That every cell had burned... and now, hours after they'd gotten nothing but unintelligible screams, she still didn't move. Didn't trust that the burning fire wouldn't return with all its fury.

She decided to chance opening her eyes, and saw only the drab walls she knew would be there. But still she didn't move. It was enough, for just that moment, to look around and get her bearings.

* * *

28. **earth**

* * *

The only sound as he dug into the hard ground was the wind and his own breath. He couldn't just leave their remains for all to see, and he owed it to himself to do something right. There wasn't much left of them, just their bones, and he cringed inside even thinking of it that way. All he could do was dig, dig, and dig some more.

The temptation was to stop, but he didn't dare. His uncle wouldn't have stopped, nor would his aunt. So he dug the holes until they were deep enough.

* * *

29. **air**

* * *

The air he'd breathed in was thick with sand. Wait... sand? As someone lifted him up to a sitting position, he coughed and shook. Where ever here was, it was both dry, warm, dark, and there was sand on the floor. These were the things he knew, though they were few, and he didn't like it.

The person who had helped him up spoke in a weird modulated voice and he shirked away from it. The words were meaningless, the information he had so far very familiar, and... he really, really couldn't see.

* * *

30. **spirit**

* * *

"It's not fair! It's just not!"

Mara sank to her knees carefully and beckoned for her translucent child to come to her. When Neesta did, she looked her in the eye. "I know. It's not fair to either of us."

Neesta glanced down at Mara's belly, then up at her again. "It's not?"

"No, it's not." Mara regarded her for a long moment, then finally let out a sigh. "I wish..."

"What, Momma?"

Mara hesitated at that question which she had not expected. She wished a lot of things... "That I could hold you like I'll get to hold this little one."


	23. Week Six, UDC 2

Week 6 (10.29.07) (UDC 2)

* * *

26. **Shirt**

* * *

Alena frowned at him. "That shirt is too plain for a planetary political function. Don't you have anything... fancy?"

Torath sighed. "No, Alena, I don't. I've been living with the resistance. We don't go shopping much."

She nodded, appraising the shirt again. It was a simple blue button-down shirt covered by an ordinary jacket... and she decided it would do. He was the man she loved, and she loved him in everything he wore. "Wear it."

"What changed your mind?"

"I love you, rugged ordinary clothing and all." And then she pulled him into a tender kiss.

* * *

27. **Pants**

* * *

She watched him from the comfort of their bed as he put his trousers on, content to admire what was hers by right of marriage. "I wish you didn't have to go."

Anakin stopped for a moment after fastening his pants and gazed at her. "If I didn't have to, I wouldn't."

She slowly sat up, smiling. "I know."

Anakin finished dressing himself and then allowed himself to sit beside her for a few moments. He couldn't stay, and if he did, Obi-Wan would come looking for him. Needing reassurance for the coming day, he bent and kissed her soundly.

* * *

28. **Dress**

* * *

Beru's dress was simple, common as she stood with Owen and recited her vows. She wished Shmi could have been there to share this day with them, and as she glanced back at Cliegg, Beru caught him smiling through tears. Nodding in acknowledgement, she turned her attention back to Owen and the holy man.

They'd wanted to keep it simple, but their neighbors had turned out to be witnesses beside her new father-in-law. As soon as 'I do' crossed her lips, Owen caught her in a kiss that she felt all the way to her toes.

* * *

29. **Uniform**

* * *

Luke noticed something different a few days after they'd returned from Ord Mantell. "Han?"

"What?" Han asked as he fiddled with a malfunctioning control panel in the lounge area of the Falcon.

"The stripes on your pants... not red anymore."

Han sat up, stared at him for a long moment, got the part he needed, and laid back down. "The red's too high profile."

"That's why you switched them to yellow?"

"Yes. Hand me that hydrospanner, would ya, kid?" Luke obligingly handed him the hydrospanner. "They're called bloodstripes," Han told him a few minutes later. "It's the one military honor I kept when I was discharged."

"Oh."

* * *

30. **Cloak**

* * *

It is with a heavy heart that she visits her sister's memorial late this night. Late, because she could not sleep. As she rounds the corner, and odd noise, almost like breathing, but louder, reaches her ears and she looks up from the ground to find a cloaked, dark figure of a man standing there.

She stops in her tracks, watching in curious silence as he bends, lays a flower at the base of the memorial, and bows his head in near-silent reverence. The only sound his artificially steady breathing and the beating of her heart in her ears.


	24. Week Six, UDC 3 - Wes and Roganda

Week 6 - 10/4/08 - UDC 3 (Wes and Roganda)

* * *

26. **Arm**

* * *

His arm went around her in one smooth motion, catching her as she nearly lost her balance. She looked at him, smiling, and then reached up to kiss him on the cheek in silent thanks.

Wes looked down at her. "What did you do that for?"

"I needed a reason?" Roganda wondered, teasing him playfully with her tone. At his bemused expression, her smile widened and she leaned up to kiss him again.

"Roganda..." he mumbled when they parted.

"What?"

He motioned down the hall with his head. "Meeting, remember?"

"You're the one who pulled me close, you know."

* * *

27. **Leg**

* * *

She didn't remember ever seeing an infection so red on anyone's leg before and she winced in sympathy. "How did you do this?"

"Don't know," Wes told her, cringing as she tended the lacerations tenderly with a sponge soaked in bacta. "Hurts."

She nodded but didn't stop. "Looks like it does." The bacta seemed to do nothing to alieviate the redness at first, and she sighed, wishing she could do more, but knowing that he wasn't Force sensitive. "Wes..."

"What?"

"Don't ever let an infection get this bad ever again."

* * *

28. **Antennae**

* * *

He found her sitting in the half-light of their shared bedroom, staring at the wall. "Is something wrong?"

It took her a few moments, and then she turned. "I felt something familiar, Janson."

Frowning, he sat beside her. "How so?"

She was hesitant to answer, and he knew that was never a good sign. "Almost as if something that should be, couldn't possibly be... suddenly is. As if the Emporer never died."

He stared at her, wondering what had happened out there that would make her say that. "Roganda..."

"Hold me?"

Wes obliged.

* * *

29. **Claw**

* * *

They were dancing when she felt something too soft under her foot, heard a sudden yowl, and felt something sharp claw at her ankle. Reflexively lefting her food, she looked down to find a set of golden eyes glaring up at her. "Wes?"

He was also looking down. "Who brought a cat?"

She bent down to look the feline in the eye. "I'm sorry for stepping on your tail. Didn't see you." The black feline continued to glare at her for a few moments, and Roganda reached out to pat her. "I wonder whose you are, hmmm?"

* * *

30. **Tail**

* * *

Wes watched as Roganda scratched the cat behind the ears. He'd never seen her around animals before. This, though different, was interesting to watch. When the cat wandered away, Roganda glanced up at him to find him smiling.

She shook her head and returned his smile. Then she looked at her ankle and saw the scratches. "For a little thing, sure packs a wallop. Ow."

"Want to go and get that tended to, or stay a while longer?"

Searching the dance floor as she stood back up, Roganda turned to him. "Stay a little longer. I want to dance some more."


	25. Week Seven, UDC 4 - Wes and Roganda

Week 7 - 5/18/09 - UDC 4

* * *

31. **No Turning Back**

* * *

She'd been here all of an hour and hated it already. These people were so... unorthodox was the best word that came to mind as she followed the frieghter pilot to the cafeteria. Roganda wanted to leave as soon as possible and get back to civilization... until she bumped into someone who was walking out the door as she was going in. "Sorry."

The response was a chuckle. "Don't be. Doors here aren't that big."

She raised her eyes to look at him and blinked at the kindness reflected back at her. "Um... be that as it may, it was still rude to not get out of the way."

* * *

32. **No Backing Down**

* * *

He found her tinkering with a landing strut while sitting in the ice that made up the floor of the maintenance bay. "Roganda?"

"It's cracked," she said without looking up. "Have to find a sealant or something to fix it. Must be the cold."

He sat down beside her, frowning. He'd not ever seen her that focused on anything in the whole four or so months she'd been here. "Is it the landing strut, or something else?"

"Not now, Janson." He took the tool she'd been working with away. "Hey!"

"Yes, now," he told her firmly.

* * *

33. **Nowhere to Run**

* * *

She sighed and glanced defeatedly toward the closed shield doors. "Don't want to talk about it."

Wes touched her arm carefully and she looked at him. "Not asking you to. But you can't keep it inside, either."

"I'm worried," she confided after a long moment of silence.

He nodded. "Only natural... I'm worried, too."

Roganda wanted to get up and leave him sitting there, but the hand on her arm held her where she sat on the cold ground. "Janson?"

"What?"

"You cold?"

He laughed softly. "It's always cold here."

"That's not what I meant!"

"Well, what did you mean?"

* * *

34. **No One to Trust**

* * *

His question brought her up short, a reminder that in this place, among these people who had found a cause and formed a sort of family of outcasts, she still didn't trust anyone. Not even this pilot sitting in the snow and the ice with her. The only person she marginally trusted was out there somewhere in a blizzard looking for the kid. Glancing over, she found the Wookiee watching them, and shook her head to quell his curiosity. "I meant... I don't know."

"Come on," Wes told her with an offered hand. "Let's get you something to eat."

* * *

35. **No Place to Hide**

* * *

"Food? I'm not hungry."

"Pretend you are. It has to be better than trying to fix the landing strut when it's not really broken."

Roganda looked at the barely visible crack again and had to agree with him. "It's the principal of the thing. And it was nice to find something that wasn't a wiring problem."

"You're stalling."

The tone of his voice made her want to laugh as she fingered the crack. It wasn't structural, as far as she could tell... "So? Not hungry."

"And you can't hide in here forever, either."

"Not hiding. Waiting."

"All night?"

"If need be."


	26. Week Seven, UDC 1

Week 7 (08.18.06) (UDC 1)

* * *

31. **breakfast**

* * *

He sat with her for over an hour, waiting her out while she let herself be fixated on the insignificant crack in the landing strut of the Falcon. "You know..."

"What?"

She slowly stood up, blinking at the stiffness in her knees. "I think I'll take you up on that offer."

Wes stood up as well, nodding. "Breakfast?"

"Anything, as long as it isn't ice chips." She frowned at him when an expression of repressed laughter all but shined from his eyes. "What's so funny?"

He just shook his head and led her to the cafeteria.

* * *

32. **lunch**

* * *

It was a quiet affair as they prepared to launch an open, timed assault in coordination with other resistance units. Widia glanced at him as he handed her a ration bar, smiling slightly. Had it been so long ago that they'd fled their home with two small children and barely anything of the life shared between them remaining intact? It felt like a lifetime... and barely any time at all.

"Be safe out there," she told him before biting into her ration bar.

"I always try to be."

"Do, not try."

Temaru groaned playfully at the reminder.

* * *

33. **dinner**

* * *

Iris set the bag down and stared at it. How many ration bars had he pulled from his pockets? She'd lost count at ten or so... it was enough to feed at least three people for a week straight. Opening her locker, she put them away, out of view but not out of mind.

Glancing around, Iris frowned in thought. It wasn't one person needing support, but two. That much was obvious. She sat down on the bench for a few minutes, resting her sore feet, and also glad that she'd picked up on the woman's guilty expression when she had. It was the little things with those two...

* * *

34. **food**

* * *

Long after they'd turned the lights out and lain in each other's arms, seeking solace and passion that only the other could provide, Luke was still awake, staring at the ceiling in the darkness. The day had been... he didn't know what to think of it. They were married. He was hers and she was his. One thing was still nagging at him, though... "Mara?"

"Hmm?" her sleepy, contented voice asked from where she with his arms wrapped around her.

"Why did you carry a ration bar in a pocket of your wedding dress?"

"Because I love you. Why else?"

* * *

35. **drink**

* * *

He heard familiar voices and turned just in time to see what could only be Luke Skywalker wave as he walked away from a blonde-haired woman. Taking a swig of his drink, Dash watched as she turned around, eyes apparently wary of her surroundings. She saw him and approached.

He silently motioned to the seat on the other side of the table. "Sit… Name's Rendar."

"Guri."

"Thirsty?"

"Only just," she muttered as she studied him. "You… seem familiar."

"A lot of people seem familiar."

"True…" She didn't even jump in surprise as a drink was placed in front of her by the bartender. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it."


	27. Week Seven, UDC 2 - Wes and Roganda

Week 7 (11.05.07) (UDC 2)

* * *

31. **Mouth**

* * *

"I love you." The words had fallen so fast from her lips that Roganda couldn't help but sit there and blink at the man on the other side of the small table. He was a pilot, he liked pranks… he wasn't like any other man she had allowed herself to care about before. She wanted to get up and leave the table, but something in his gaze kept her immobile as he reached across and took her hand in his, returning the feeling in silent affirmation.

When the alarm claxons sounded, she almost didn't hear them.

* * *

32. **Ears**

* * *

His ears were the only things he trusted as he walked alongside his master in the Death Star's hanger bay. Under the mask, all sound was filtered, and he could hear the double meanings. Palpatine had plans, he knew that. But what? To turn his son? Or was he to be replaced? Stifling that very thought, Vader felt the blood drain from his unseen face.

The situation was, as always, precarious. Always changing, but one thing was certain: his master, long his friend, had an ulterior motive.

* * *

33. **Eyes**

* * *

On Endor's moon, in the middle of commotion, a woman suddenly can not trust her eyes and has to duck behind a tree. Something is happening, of that she is certain, and it is not down here that is important. Reaching out for the first time in months, Roganda closes her eyes and lets the connection reestablish to her master.

Up there on the station, she can feel the confrontation. Feel it while battle rages around her in the forest. Not for the first time, she wonders when everything changed, and what was once right became wrong.

* * *

34. **Nose**

* * *

He follows his nose to the small kitchen of their shared quarters, where he finds her standing at the stove. "What are you…?"

"Dinner," she tells him curtly. "Be ready in a little while."

"Well, yes, but it smells…"

"Different?"

Something in her voice makes him frown. Was she angry? "I'll… set the table…" As he backed away, Wes couldn't help but wonder what it was he'd done to upset her. Or why she would be… to his knowledge, nothing out of the ordinary had happened. "Roganda?"

"Yes?"

At the annoyed tone she threw at him, he shook his head. "Never mind."

* * *

35. **Hands**

* * *

Dinner was a tense and silent affair, and, though he had been tempted to engage in small talk, the set of her jaw forestalled him. Watching her eat and glance at him occasionally was a puzzle unto itself.

Finally, she took his hand in hers and just held it. "It's not you."

"What do you mean?"

She sighed. "I'm not upset at you."

"Sure seems like it."

She let go, pulled her chair closer to him, and held his hands again. "I have something to tell you, Wes." As she brought his hands into contact with her stomach, he couldn't help but stare at her.


	28. Week Seven, UDC 3

Week 7 - 10/11/08 - prompts provided by BigFatty (UDC 3)

* * *

31. **Door**

* * *

Behind closed doors in a very run-down apartment on Nar Shadda, a woman stares blankly, seeing nothing of the drab and low-key interior. She'd been out on the streets, undercover and doing her duty to the Jedi Order, when sensations of pain and chaos began to slam into her. Friends, people she knew... dead or dying. She didn't know why or how, but as conscious thought began to return, Vima knew she was in danger. All Jedi were in danger.

With that certainty, she pulled on a cloak and walked back out into the streets with only her lightsaber to serve as a constant reminder. She would disappear.

* * *

32. **Window**

* * *

It wasn't the layers of dirt and grime, or the tattered robe the person wore that kept Leia's attention on the old woman. It was her eyes. Eyes of a person who had stories to tell, even if she no longer really knew how to tell them. A window, open for what felt like the first time in a very long time.

Leia smiled comfortingly and motioned for Han to help her. "We're taking you with us."

"Vima... go?" the old woman wondered in a bewildered tone as they helped her up.

"Yes."

* * *

33. **Roof**

* * *

She cast a wary glance at the roof of the cave that the hangar bay was in, knowing it was just ice and rock. One too many booms to her liking, and she was worried... There was a dark presence out there, and it was making her nerves tingle. She recognized it, barely, and knew that if they didn't get out soon; things would get much, much worse. "Where is he?"

Yelling and the sound of whirring servos grabbed her attention, and Roganda sighed in relief as she turned to see Solo and Organa running with Threepio not far behind.

* * *

34. **Walls**

* * *

As they boarded the ship and had time to calm down, Luke suddenly realized that something was missing. As if the walls between them were back in place, a barrier where there hadn't been one before. He frowned and turned to her. "Mara?"

"What?"

"Are you all right?"

She didn't meet his eyes as she nodded. "Fine."

Luke moved to open his mouth and say something, but the expression on her face forestalled him. He nodded... perhaps now was not the best time to ask her about it.

* * *

35. **Floor**

* * *

She spun around just in time to see him hit the floor, injured by flying debris, and almost missed the next parry of the enemy lightsaber. Shaking herself and rushing to defend in one motion, Mara landed a blow and drove her opponent back fiercely. She could still feel him, and the pain radiating through like an endless siren, and it made her that much more determined to succeed.

One more blow and the confrontation was over, and she was free to run to him and help Solo. "He'll be fine," she assured him.

Solo glanced at her and nodded.


	29. Week Eight, UDC 4 - Wes and Roganda

Week 8 - 5/25/09 - UDC 4

* * *

36. **A Little Bit of This**

* * *

She was reading a datapad when hands covered her eyes and a welcome voice whispered in her ear. "Guess who."

Smiling, she leaned into him and set the datapad down. "I don't have to. I know."

"For me?"

"Wes..."

"Yes?"

"It's good to have you home," Roganda sincerely told him as he removed his hands from her eyes and she turned to look at him. "Missed you."

He grinned. "I missed you, too."

"Prove it," she teased him playfully.

"Make you dinner?" At her raised eyebrow, Wes snorted. "Or something else..." Roganda had no complaints when he bent and kissed her soundly on the lips.

* * *

37. **Anything But That**

* * *

Whatever he had expected her to tell him, it hadn't been that. Most definitely not that. "Are you sure?" At her frown, he nodded. "Right, of course you're sure. I just thought..."

Roganda sighed. "You thought that because I didn't want to discuss the issue of children that I didn't want one?"

"Well... yes."

"Not the case. It's painful to think about, but I'm not against it."

Wes frowned at her wording. They never talked about where their relationship was going, especially children. He'd wanted to, but after her reaction to certain things during the height of the war, he had thought the better of it.

* * *

38. **Not For Nothing**

* * *

Seeing her baby girl for the first time was at once painful, cathartic, and a healing experience. She had felt her son have a seizure in the operating room and then the building had collapsed... From that moment to now, it felt like she'd lived an entirely different lifetime. Different, where right and wrong had been flipped like day and night, and where the regime once held sacred had turned into that which was worthy of despise.

As she caressed her daughter's cheek, Roganda smiled. An entirely different lifetime, but definitely not for nothing.

* * *

39. **Everything Else**

* * *

The only prank he ever played on her involved bootlaces. She'd gone to sleep in an empty bunk in his quarters, and the next morning, her bootlaces were unlaced, sitting next to her boots... and multicolored where they'd been standard issue green. She'd spent five minutes staring at them when he had walked in, saw her dubious expression, and burst into laughter.

Roganda remembered shrugging, relacing the boots, and fixing him with a stare that could have melted dried and cooled lava. "You done?"

Noting her expression, he immediately stopped laughing. "Yes."

"Good." She kept the bootlaces.

* * *

40. **What Matters Most**

* * *

She stared up into the blue sky, searching for something. Someone. It had been months, a year even, since she had allowed herself to reach out through the Force. The risks had been too great to both the people whose company she had been keeping, and to herself. But now... with the danger gone, she couldn't help it. She had to know. Was he safe out there?

Just at the edge of her perception, she felt him and Roganda sighed in relief. Whatever else had happened today, light triumphing over darkness... it almost didn't matter. He was fine, and that was enough.


	30. Week Eight, UDC 1 - Fallout

Week 8 (08.25.06) (UDC 1) – Fallout...

* * *

36. **broken**

* * *

Lando sat there and stared at the blaster lying on the holochess table in the lounge area on the Falcon, almost transfixed by it. He'd done the right thing... right up unto the point where he had turned his friend over to the so-called authorities. Only, it had still felt like the right thing until the rules kept changing without warning.

Slowly, he picked up the blaster and inspected it. It was none the worse for wear. Setting it back down again, he didn't even look up when someone sat down on the other side of the table.

* * *

37. **fixed**

* * *

Roganda regarded the man across from her with a curiosity as he continued to stare at the blaster between them. She'd seen enough to know that he'd been in way over his head from the start. "You can't blame yourself."

At last, Lando looked up at her. "What?"

She sighed. It was time for some hard truths, wasn't it? "You didn't know. You didn't know that he wouldn't keep his word."

"Doesn't change it, Ganda."

She winced at the shortened use of her name. "Didn't say it did... Like you said to Leia not five minutes ago, we will get him back."

* * *

38. **light**

* * *

In her words, Lando found the light he needed to hear. "You mean that?"

She nodded. "I do." She had to believe it... everything she'd seen since joining the rebellion at his side made it hard to believe anything else.

Lando frowned suddenly. "Why did you wince when I said your name?"

She winced again, reminded only too well of their missing friend. "He calls me that. It's not my name, but close enough."

"So... what is your name?" After all, it wouldn't do to have her be reminded of him at every turn, would it?

"Roganda."

At that, Lando had to stifle a chuckle.

* * *

39. **dark**

* * *

A dark shadow seemed to appear in her eyes, and Lando had to blink. "Are you all right?"

"Fine." She wasn't, really. During all the excitement, first with the evacuation, then trying to find things to fix in out of the way corners of the ship, and then with everything on Cloud City... she hadn't had time, really, to think about much. Now she did, and Roganda was wondering who else had made it off of Hoth.

Lando watched her get up and move away from the table in silence. He turned and found Chewie watching him, and the Wookiee shook his head in silent reply.

* * *

40. **shattered**

* * *

It was a weary group that departed the Falcon when they finally reached the fleet. Luke was supported by Chewie on one side and Lando on the other, Leia following close behind as they were met by a medical team.

Roganda searched the small crowd with her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief when she found who she was looking for. It was enough, for the moment, just to know he was safe. Right then, however... their priority was the shattered and shaken young man being loaded onto a stretcher. A real reunion could wait a while.


	31. Week Eight, UDC 2

Week 8 (11.12.07) (UDC 2)

* * *

36. **Sullustan**

* * *

The caves were dark and echoed with every step as he walked, keeping an ear out for anything of the ordinary. His big, black eyes had adjusted adequately to the dim light being put off by the subterranean flora. Home for the first time in far too long, now was a time for quiet reflection of all he had seen, both good and bad.

Alone with his thoughts, Nein Numb allows himself to relax ever so slightly. It was good to be home, even for a visit.

* * *

37. **Bothan**

* * *

Dash Rendar sat alone and stared out the view port after making the jump to lightspeed and avoiding what would have been certain death, only now having the time and presence of mind to reflect and dwell on things he could not change. How many Bothans had died because he'd missed?

One? Three? Ten?

Shaking his head in frustration, he got up and went to see what needed fixing. The numbers didn't matter. That he had missed did.

* * *

38. **Human**

* * *

He found her sitting at a table in the mess hall, staring at her tray of food instead of eating it. Frowning, Wes sat down across from her and waited. It took a few minutes for her to look up and make eye contact with him, and when she did, he could only nod and hold her hand. "Bad?"

Roganda nodded once and her grip tightened on his hand, and he knew better than to ask anything else. It was enough, just then, to sit with her. Answers could wait until she was ready and not before.

* * *

39. **Mon Calamari**

* * *

Tarma regarded him warily, already tired of the subject of names, and they'd only just begun. "Ackbar?"

"What's wrong with it?" Luke wondered with raised eyebrows.

"Nothing, it just doesn't sound right." She reached over and held his hand, smiling. "How about a compromise?"

"Such as?"

"Tate Ackbar. Best of both worlds, rolled into one." She waited for him to think about it, then leaned closer. "Or we could ask my parents for suggestions and let them argue about it."

Luke shuddered. "No, no need for that. Tate?"

"I wanted a simple name as a child."

"Ah."

* * *

40. **Wookiee**

* * *

In the dark and dimly-lit dungeon cell,  
A wookiee waits  
Waits  
For the moment

In the dark and dimly-lit dungeon cell,  
Inside Jabba's palace  
A wookiee  
Has time  
To reflect  
On the path  
That has led them here

Here,  
In the dark  
And the dry  
And the heat

In the dark and dimly-lit dungeon cell…  
Time becomes  
Unimportant  
Immaterial  
Nothing

It was yesterday  
A lifetime ago  
A year ago  
And no time at all  
From that moment on a carbon-freezing platform  
To this one,  
Here  
In the cell

In the dark and dimly-lit dungeon cell,  
A wookiee waits  
To fulfill  
A promise


	32. Week Eight, UDC 3

Week 8 - 10/19/08 - prompts provided by KELIA (UDC 3)

* * *

36. **Chancellor**

* * *

It felt like someone had pulled the rug out from under him. With a simple sentence, Valorum's world had been turned upside down in a way he hadn't thought possible. He listened, staring at his hands, as his aide moved to quiet the senate chamber down from vocal mayhem. As he sat, words seemed to blur and it became white noise.

With a single sentence from a person who had come to enter a plea for much-needed assistance, the galaxy as he knew it changed... and now she held the power.

* * *

37. **Queen**

* * *

Time had ceased to have any meaning. All that existed was the two of them on the dance floor, swaying gently to the music that seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere. "I don't want this to end," she said in a soft voice that only he could here.

He smiled on hearing that. He felt the same way... this felt so right, dancing with her. All too soon, the song came to an end.

She pulled away and looked him in the eye. "Is this what it feels like to be a queen?"

"Do you feel like one?"

"Yes."

* * *

38. **Senator**

* * *

Leia wasn't certain what to think as she followed her father into a small sitting area that looked out into a big room. Was this the Senate she had often been told about when he told stories? It was so... big. One would even use the word 'expansive.' She hadn't imagined that it would be like this. Not at all...

Bail turned and looked at her. "Ready?"

"For what?"

"Politics."

She looked again into the senate chamber, and found herself nodding. "Yes." And if she wasn't now, she would get ready.

* * *

39. **Aide**

* * *

Mon Mothma frowned as she watched one of the Rogue Squadron pilots interact with that woman who seemed very familiar, even if she couldn't place her. She knew that the woman had come back with Captain Solo from a cargo run, and he had vouched for her, but other than that… Sitting down at a table in the mess hall, she continued to thing about it.

Times like this, Mon Mothma wished she had an aide to look things up on people. Especially when the only character of witness that could be found on them came from a smuggler.

* * *

40. **Guard**

* * *

Leia hadn't missed the fact that Mon Mothma had been distracted all week. She even thought she could guess why… that woman Han had brought back with him. "She's not a danger."

Mon Mothma turned and blinked at her. "What?"

Leia motioned to the woman sitting with a tech, learning the intracacies of the sensor panels. "Her. I remember her from the Senate."

"She was a senator?"

"No. She was an aide. To Palpatine." Which… wasn't entirely true, but it was better than the truth as Leia knew it.

Mon Mothma digested that bit of information before nodding. "We must be on our guard, then."


	33. Week Nine, UDC 4

Week 9 - 6/1/09 - prompts provided by BigFatty (UDC 4)

* * *

41. **Necklace**

* * *

It was the tail-end of a long and boring covert mission when her ops partner handed her a small, plain box with a knowing smile. "Here."

Frowning, Roganda opened it to find a black strand with a metal charm it's only adornment... an animal that appeared to be howling. "What's this for?"

"Nothing," he told her with an insincere smirk in his eyes. "Officially, that is."

"And unofficially?"

"Saw it, thought of you."

She watched as Quest sauntered off and had to fight the smile that threatened to overtake her lips.

* * *

42. **Earrings**

* * *

If it was one thing she never got used to, it was jewelry. And this time, to play the part she was to play, the earrings were both showy, heavy, and they dangled. They were also, or so she'd been told on receiving them, expensive. Mara frowned as she put them on, still not liking the way they felt.

The target was a high-level beaurarcrat, and her Master had ordered her to do her duty. Do it, she would... even if she didn't like the jewelry.

* * *

43. **Watch**

* * *

They were going over case reports when Darvis heard a very odd sort of chime that he hadn't ever heard before. Six notes, kind of catchy in an annoying sort of way. He glanced over to find Elsie blushing and staring at her chrono. "Something you forgot to do?"

"I..." She looked at him, suddenly seeming to remember that they were in the middle of the squadroom, and blinked. "Probably. Can I... go find out?"

"The reports aren't going anywhere, so yes..." He watched her go and wondered why she was embarrassed over something so little.

* * *

44. **Belt**

* * *

Leia stood in the gloom of the crime lord's abode, staring up at the encased form of the man she'd come all this way to get back. It was as if he'd been frozen in a moment of pain or panic... and she could just barely see the outline of the belt he'd been wearing. Shaking herself, she set about the task at hand. He was not Jabba's wall decoration, to be mocked and jeered and laughed at. He was a person... her person, now that she'd let herself admit it. She wouldn't have agreed to wear a dead bounty hunter's clothes if he hadn't mattered to her.

* * *

45. **Ring**

* * *

He felt like it was going to burn a whole in his pocket all through dinner. Every time she looked up at him, he wanted to say something, but the words just wouldn't form and Luke felt like he was in a fog. "Mara?"

"Yes?" she asked as she took a bite of her nerf steak. Then she frowned. You're nervous. I can feel it from here.

"Marry me." And then he blinked. Had he really just said it that way? Marry me?

Mara paused and set her cutlery down. Then she reached across and smiled humorously. "Only if you ask nicely."


	34. Week Nine, UDC 1

Week 9 (09.01.06) (UDC 1)

* * *

41. **rebirth**

* * *

The alley was filthy when she came to, not remembering how she had come to be there or why. Picking herself up and getting her bearings, nothing came sliding into place.

Looking down at the outfit she was wearing, a frown formed on her lips. Her dress was torn and… burned? That didn't make any sense, either. Had there been some kind of a fire? Knowing she couldn't stay in the alley, and also knowing that she was less than presentable, the woman looked around for anything at all to cover that which would lead to questions.

She found a cloak.

* * *

42. **scars**

* * *

Something stopped him from asking more questions when Luke finally realized who this woman was. Whether it was how she held herself when speaking about the past, or something to do with how she kept glaring at him didn't matter… he understood, on some level, just how hard it could be to have to start over, to build a life anew.

As Jade glared at him once again, he knew something else, too… she was pretty when she was mad. "Long trek, hmm?"

"Your fault for running."

"You didn't have to come after me."

Her only reply was a derisive snort.

* * *

43. **disease**

* * *

She found him standing alone at a window in a classroom, and had to smile. He looked so thoughtful… "Nicos?" When he didn't turn or react, she began to frown. "Is something wrong?"

Slowly, he turned to look at her, and the distraughtness in his eyes made her blink. "Yes."

She went to him and guided him to a chair and then sat down with him. "Tell me?"

Nicos shook his head. "I can't."

"Why not?"

A deep breath. "I will not put this burden on you, Cray."

She put a hand on his trembling one. "Your burden is my burden, Nicos."

* * *

44. **agony**

* * *

"I'm dying."

The words had fallen so suddenly from his lips that she wasn't certain she'd heard them right. Dying? That couldn't be right… he looked perfectly healthy to her.

"What?"

Nicos stared into her eyes, the reality sinking in with each passing moment. She sat there, more shocked than she'd ever felt, staring back at him. How could that be? They were going to be married when training was over!

His continued silence and the pressure of his hand on hers was the only thing that kept her from crumbling into sobs or fleeing the room.

* * *

45. **healing**

* * *

It was in the small hours of the morning that Mara could stay in bed no longer. Careful not to wake the man sleeping beside her, she crept from the room, intent on seeing someone.

Entering the baby's room, she looked into the crib and smiled down at her baby boy. He was so beautiful that she wanted right then to wake him up or hold him. That would have made for a grumpy and crabby infant, though…


	35. Week Nine, UDC 1-B Nichos and Cray AU

A/N: This isn't a numbering mistake. Set was done again, because I wanted to explore an AU for Nichos Mar and Cray Mingla.

* * *

Week 9 (09.01.06) (UDC 1) - Nichos Marr and Cray Mingla

* * *

41. **rebirth**

* * *

She cautiously approached the chair in which he sat after they'd taken the Ssi-Ruuvi machinery away, not knowing what to expect. Not saying a word, she kneeled next to him and looked into his eyes. She saw him in there, looking back at her... "Nichos?"

Slowly, silently, he leaned forward until his forehead was touching hers. She shivered at the coolness of it, not having expected him to feel any different. "Cray."

It didn't hit her until later that she couldn't feel him through the Force the way she had before. What that meant, she would not know for a long while.

* * *

42. **scars**

* * *

Every day, she came to his room and sat with him for hours. He'd noticed that when he woke up to find her there, she was always reading a datapad or sheef of flimsy. He'd asked her once what the reading material was, and Cray had played it off and told him to think nothing of it. He knew what she was doing, though... trying not to talk about what was happening.

It was when she wanted a perfect mold of his hands, right down to the scars, that he began to suspect something else.

* * *

43. **disease**

* * *

It was during his forth week in the hospital, when he could no longer stand on his own, that a nurse and a doctor came into his room and told him something that changed everything. There was a cure. A cure for Quanotts Syndrome where there hadn't been one before, they said. A team of medical research scientists had spent years looking for a way and finally had a breakthrough.

The news was so shocking that he could only sit there and listen as they explained it three times. In the end, Nichos had only one response... "Yes."

* * *

44. **agony**

* * *

Every cell seemed to burn as he laid very still in his hospital bed, afraid that if he moved so much as his pinky that the agony would intensify. If this was a cure, he didn't want to know what the alternative was. They had begun administering the cure three days ago, and this was hopefully the last round. Hopefully.

He saw Cray hovering at his beside out of the corner of his eye, for once without a datapad in her hand, and wanted to say something. Anything... wait. He could. Beloved?

"Hush," she told him softly as she gently took his hand in hers. "Rest now. I'm here."

* * *

45. **healing**

* * *

When next he woke, Nichos had to blink in befuddlement. The pain was gone, and though he still felt very weak, he really did feel better. He glanced around to find that Cray was still there, dozing in a chair. She began to stir, their eyes met, and she smiled back at him.

He wanted to ask her why she had taken a molding of his hands, but that did not matter now. "Where's your datapad?"

Cray smiled. "Master Skywalker liberated me of it yesterday. Seemed to think I was studying too much..."

"Should I work on getting it back for you?"

"No." Carefully, she joined him on the bed. "He was right."


	36. Week Nine, UDC 2 - Melyan Family

Week 9 (11.19.07) (UDC 2) – Melyan Family

* * *

41. **Family**

* * *

He was only half listening as his parents caught up with one another after so long apart, but Darvis was starting to wonder if he was the only one in the family who had actually been bored in the recent past. His father had gone on a covert mission for CorSec, and his mother had had a hand in blowing something up. Several somethings, from the sound of it.

"Darvis," his father asked, capturing his attention. "Is something wrong?"

Darvis sighed and got up from his chair. "No." He glanced at them directly once and then left the room.

* * *

42. **Travel**

* * *

Fosco watched as his son left the table and then turned to look at Moira. "There's more to it than that. I can feel it."

Moira sighed as she handed a datapad to him. "He's fine, mostly. Don't worry about it. Worry about this instead."

Fosco studied the information for a full minute before returning his startled gaze to her. "What is this?"

"Leftovers of terror. Wanna go?"

"You had but to ask," he said as he leaned in to kiss her. "Of course."

"That's what I thought you'd say."

* * *

43. **Food**

* * *

Darvis stared at the ration bar in his hands. He couldn't believe that they'd talked him into going along on this crazy mission. What was way out in the middle of a bunch of asteroids in the middle of nowhere called the Ninth Quadrant, anyway? It made no sense.

"Not everything has to make sense, son," his father murmured knowingly.

"It'd be nice if everything did, though, right?"

He was answered with a chuckle. "Yes and no. If everything made sense, there would be no questions to answer, and life would be boring."

Darvis looked away from the ration bar to look at his father. "Are you speaking in riddles on purpose?"

"Maybe."

* * *

44. **Blessings**

* * *

"It's a big rock," Fosco stated as the three of them stared at the looming mass from the comfort of their shuttle. "With lots and lots of weapons."

"So that's why you didn't tell me what we were going to do," Darvis said, not taking his eyes off the thing that could have easily passed for a planetoid. "How were you planning on destroying it?"

Moira smirked and held up a small device for him to see. "Small blessings from a friend."

"Huh?"

"Do you really want to know, or can we just do what we came here to do?"

He paused, taking in her serious expression. "Let's do this."

"That's my boy."

* * *

45. **Thanks**

* * *

Sitting at his desk and trying to concentrate on case reports, Darvis barely noticed when someone set a mug of caf down beside him. Once he did notice it, however, he blinked and stared at it for a full minute or so. Then he nodded to himself, picked it up, and savored the taste of the strong and bitter liquid. He hadn't been able to so much as look at the stuff since finding out some information that he sorely wished he hadn't.

He glanced up to find Elsie watching him with a calm, concerned smile. "Thanks."


	37. Week Nine, UDC 3 - Wave Rangers

A/N: This... it's a crossover with Smallville, and a referback to the Ever and Always (here posted as "Wanting To Know") epilogue where the Wave Rangers took the long way home ala Sliders.

* * *

Week 9 - 10/27/08 - UDC 3 - Wave Rangers...

* * *

41. **Purple**

* * *

Dawn stared as the teleportation beam cleared and she was finally able to see in the light of the fire. Was the guy really stabbing the daylights out of a plant? "Um..." Melinda shushed her. "What?"

"Let him," was all she said. At the sound of their voices, the shirtless man turned to regard them suspiciously. As if he didn't believe that they were real. "Mister Luthor?"

Gripping his knife, Lex frowned. "Are you real?"

"Put down the knife, sir," Dawn told him carefully. "And yes. We are."

"Did Lewis send you?"

Dawn glanced down at the plants that had been savagely attacked without mercy. "I can honestly say he didn't."

Still wary, Lex slowly put down the knife.

* * *

42. **Orange**

* * *

Susan appeared on the porch of the Kent farmhouse and waited for the door to open, and when it did, she stared hard at the man standing there. "Just where exactly do you think you are going, young man?"

Jonathan Kent stared at the girl who had to be half his age, if not younger. "I'm sorry?"

"Back inside. Now... and before you argue, Mr. Kent, I am older than you, so get that thought out of your head this instant. Back inside. Now."

Jonathan blinked and slowly turned around. "I was just..."

Susan glared at his back as she closed the door soundly.

* * *

43. **Green**

* * *

"Ow!"

"Still hurts, huh?"

Whuki sighed as he took the ice pack away from Ralarna and held it to the side of his head that hurt the most. "Yes. He punches like a super-powered mule."

"You're the one who didn't get out of the way, sweetie. Also, you're green right now."

"Concentration's kind of shot, what with him very nearly giving me brain damage and all."

Ralarna chuckled softly and smiled. "I like the green, Whuki. On you, green is cute and..."

"I love you too, Rala."

* * *

44. **Silver**

* * *

"So what are we doing down here, anyway?" Melinda asked as she followed Elsie through a cave and entered a big chamber.

"Solving the mystery of the dead cat."

"Huh?"

Elsie laughed as she studied the drawings on the walls with a flashlight. "Just a figure of speech. Wow..." When she found a round wheel-like one, Elsie frowned. "Or not. Dang."

"What?"

Elsie had no time to answer as the room was suddenly lit up with a silver light. When it faded, they were face-to-face with a ghost. "You must be... you're the AI, aren't you?"

"I am Jor-El."

"So that would be a yes..."

* * *

45. **Copper**

* * *

Amy had heard just about enough as she pushed herself off the fence post she'd been leaning on and began to walk away. "I'll go get Susan."

Ranko turned to her, frowning. "Why?"

"Simple. This person we're about to help? He's Kryptonian and immune to fire. That means that rather than going for big and showy, it's going to take finesse and brute force to get the job done. Thus… Susan's durability to go along with Whuki's shape-shifting and innate strength."

Ranko glanced at Whuki, who appeared halfway between nauseated and confident, considered him for a moment, and nodded. "Good point."


	38. Week Ten, UDC 4 - Author's Choice

A/N: Back again to the Wanting To Know Epilogue, only Ailee and Darvis in that AU never knew one another. The question of "What if" for them if they'd known each other is explored here.

* * *

Week 10 - 6/7/09 - UDC 4 - (Author's Choice) – What if…?

* * *

46. **Life**

* * *

She was packing. After the very brief time she'd been back from where ever it was she was assigned, and after going home for a few days, she was leaving again. He had asked her not to go, citing the feeling he'd gotten when she so much as mentioned where she was going. Even now, just thinking about it as she packed, caused him to shudder. "Ailee..."

The look she threw at him, venomous, hard... made him shut his mouth. When he'd voiced it the first time, they'd argued. Now he couldn't say anything without her glaring at him.

As she passed him on her way out, a kiss was shared. And then she was gone.

* * *

47. **Painful**

* * *

Moira found him sitting at the kitchen table, staring at what appeared to be a small keepsake. "Darvis?"

"Did they get out all right?"

"Yes," she answered as she sat down across from him, suddenly concerned by the quiet dullness of his tone. "You seem... troubled."

"It's nothing."

Knowing her son rather well, Moira didn't believe him. "Can I see?"

Without looking up, he handed what turned out to be a holo of himself and a woman to her. Several holos, the two of them in goofy poses in one or two, smiling in another, and kissing in the forth.

* * *

48. **Beautiful**

* * *

Slowly, unsure of what to do and suddenly feeling awkward, Moira handed the holos back to him. Something was definitely bothering him, but what? Then, he raised his head and really looked back at her, the raw emotion showing in his eyes. "What is it?"

He hesitated for a moment too long before shaking his head. "It's nothing. Really."

"I'm your mother. You know that I know when you're lying."

He sighed and pushed away from the table. "Just let it be, all right?"

Moira watched him go, baffled momentarily by his behavior. Was it as simple as what he'd been looking at?

* * *

49. **Searching**

* * *

The database had been surprisingly easy to navigate, Moira thought as she sat at a terminal in the squad room and studied the face of the woman she'd seen in the holo Darvis had been holding.

A hand on her shoulder and Moira jumped, startled at the contact. She turned to find Fanlen, her son's partner, standing there. "Hi."

"You're right," she said before nodding to the terminal screen. "About her."

Moira frowned. "I am?"

"Ask him about it. Use her name when you ask," Fanlen advised. "He can be stubborn, so it takes finesse."

"You know him too well."

"I'm his partner," Fanlen reminded her. "Comes with the job."

* * *

50. **Loss**

* * *

It was only later, after the adrenaline wore off, that she realized something was wrong. Thinking back over the events of the evening, Elsie tried to pinpoint what it was… other than the cannon ball of a revelation. And then it hit her: someone had been shocked. Thoroughly and utterly, though he hadn't displayed it for all to see.

Sitting by the couch on which her team leader was sleeping, the realization left her stunned and wishing she'd been able to pull Moira into helping.


	39. Week Ten, UDC 1

Week 10 (09.08.06) (UDC 1)

* * *

46. **bell**

* * *

Leia opened her eyes and blearily looked around to find Han sitting by her bunk and reading a datapad. "What are you doing here?"

Han blinked at the sound of her voice and looked up from the datapad, smiling. "Oh, you're awake. Feel better?"

Slowly, she attempted to sit up in the small bunk, only to find she really didn't have the energy. "No."

Han nodded as he stood up. "I've got some repairs to do, so just give me a ring if you need something, Princess."

She watched him leave, perplexed at what he meant. And then she discovered the small bell by her hand.

* * *

47. **book**

* * *

"Anything interesting in there," a voice wondered from next to her ear. Roganda turned and shook her head at him. "And is that an actual book?"

Roganda sighed. "It's literature from Palpatine's personal library, Wes."

Wes frowned. "So…"

"Dark side theory, some of it. How to control one's anger and use people… that kind of thing." She looked away from him, not wanting to let him judge her with his eyes. "Not that I was planning on going there, but insight, you know?"

Slowly, he reached out and made her meet his eyes. "I know."

* * *

48. **candle**

* * *

The candle was lit in the window every year on the same day for as long as she could remember. She never asked her parents why they observed the day like that, because it was always a given that there would be a candle and the mood would be somber.

This year was no different, but as Eryl lit the candle and placed it in her dorm window, she now knew why. For the lost. For everyone. In remembrance of strife and all those who suffer. For Alderaan. A simple tribute, but memorable and definitely voiced.

* * *

49. **bowl**

* * *

She was still resting when a bowl of hot steaming liquid was placed on an upright tray next to her bunk. Staring balefully up at the freighter pilor, Leia shook her head. "Not hungry."

Han pulled up a stool and frowned at her. "Well, it's going to get cold, then, because I'm going to stay here and wait."

"Solo…" At his continued, now deeper, frown, she sighed and reached for the dish and the spoon. "I'll try."

"Good," Han said as he watched her take a tentative first sip. "Did I get it right?"

"You did." She ate every last drop of the Alderaani soup.

* * *

50. **blade**

* * *

Having come to a decision, she stood solemnly at the waste compactor and just watched the little door as behind it her weapon was destroyed. She had made it in training, a blade of red… to do what her master wished her to do. To carry out his orders covertly.

And now… she didn't deserve to carry the weapon. Not after… after Irek. She had made choices, the wrong ones, and trusted the wrong person. She knew that now. Her weapon had been her last connection to all of that. To Irek.


	40. Week Ten, UDC 2

Week 10 (11.26.07) (UDC 2)

* * *

46. **Water**

* * *

It was morning when next she felt even like herself again… moving still wasn't even in the cards, though. Glancing around, she found a glass of water… and a note. It had been two days ago that she'd fallen ill, and a week since they'd had to evacuate from Hoth in a hurry.

In that time, Leia had seen a different side of Captain Solo than she was used to. He had been caring and gentle. As she picked up the note and read it, a smile began to form.

"Thought you might be thirsty. Drink up."

* * *

47. **Wine**

* * *

She took one sip, made a face, and immediately put the wine glass down. It was so bitter… more bitter than anything she'd ever tasted before. "How do you drink this stuff, Calrissian?"

The man on the other side of the table only chuckled in response and she glared at him. He took a sip, shrugged. "I've grown accustomed to it, Jade."

"Any particular reason?"

"Reminders."

"Of what?"

"That some things are not as bad as they could be."

She continued to stare at him for another minute before picking up her glass again and draining it in one gulp. He had a point…

* * *

48. **Ale**

* * *

She'd come to the ship-board cafeteria to eat something, but upon reaching it, hadn't felt like eating. Or even participating in conversation. So she sat on a bench to one side, just listened to various conversations, and stared at the deck plates. So much had gone on, and they'd been in so much danger… too much.

Someone sat down next to her and placed a bottle of something in front of her on the floor. Blinking, Roganda picked it up, recognizing it as Ale. Taking the hint, she turned to her benefactor and nodded. Then she let the burning liquid soothe her frazzled nerves.

* * *

49. **Tea**

* * *

"Was it worth it?" a familiar feminine voice asked as she laid on what she hoped was a bunk with a wet, cold cloth over her eyes. The utter frankness of the question made Roganda want to laugh, and if her head hadn't been pounding something fierce, she would have.

"The hangover?"

"Yes."

Slowly, Roganda sat up and chanced opening her eyes to look at Leia. "Not really, no." She accepted the proffered tea. "Thank you."

Leia shook her head. "Don't thank me. Thank Janson."

"For what?"

"Being smart enough to get you out of the cafeteria."

* * *

50. **Juice**

* * *

"I shouldn't have had that Ale."

Leia frowned. "Was it just one?"

"Three or four." Roganda glanced at Leia, still wincing at the pain that came with her behaviour the night before. "I think. Kinda lost track."

Leia sat down and really looked at her. "I said this to Mon Mothma back when you first arrived on Hoth, and I believe it even more now: you are not a danger here. Or in danger, either."

Roganda stared at her. "What?"

"Something to consider the next time you feel down… And it wasn't your fault, what happened at Bespin."

She didn't believe it, but hearing it was nice.


	41. Week Ten, UDC 3

Week 10 - 11/3/08 - prompts provided by BigFatty (UDC 3)

* * *

46. **Cantina**

* * *

She'd protested all the way to the cantina, saying that there was no way in the nine hells they should be in so public a place with everything that had been going on. He had ignored every word, held her hand firmly, and escorted her there. Looking around the ill-lit establishment, she frowned. "I still don't like this. It's too public!"

He pulled her into his arms and they looked each other in the eyes. "This is not about being seen. This is about you and me. Here. Together."

Not breaking eye contact, she smiled. "Really?"

"Really."

She had no further protest.

* * *

47. **Tapcafe**

* * *

Mara watched him as he drank his hot coco. There was something she wanted to say, but couldn't find the words.

Luke smiled as he set the cup down. "Maybe we should have met somewhere else?"

"No, this is fine."

"You seem a little uneasy there, Mara."

She wanted to scowl at him for being so perceptive. "What does it matter to you, Skywalker?"

He shrugged and took another sip. "Just curious."

Right. Suuure he was. At this rate, she'd be later than normal getting back to the Wild Karrde. What was she supposed to say if they asked? That she'd been held up at cup-point by a Jedi Master?

* * *

48. **Diner**

* * *

The manager wanted to tell his last customers of the night that it was closing time, but something in the way they were talking quietly stopped him. Their postures told him that they really needed more time, and that was fine, he could allow it for another hour or so.

He'd taken up a seat at the counter, quietly thumbing through a datapad to check the stock prices of the items needed for the diner, and also to keep an eye on the couple. He recognized the man, but the red-haired woman was unfamiliar.

Later, after they'd left, he closed up shop for the night.

* * *

49. **Mess Hall**

* * *

Walking into the academy mess hall under his own power with Mara at his side, Luke stopped in the doorway and took a moment to look. His students hadn't noticed them yet and were sitting in groups of two and three, quietly talking. "Come on," he said as he grabbed Mara's wrist and pulled her into the corridor.

"Something wrong?" Mara asked.

He looked at her, shook his head. "No. Just… want you to myself for a little longer."

She smiled and lead him quietly away from the doorway of the mess hall. That worked for her, too…

* * *

50. **Dining Room**

* * *

Darkness greeted her as she arrived him that evening, and Leia frowned. Why were the lights off? And it was too quiet. "Han?"

From the darkness, a hand touched hers and she jumped. "Shh. Follow me."

Leia allowed herself to be lead, and had to blink when they arrived in their dining room. All around the room, candles were lit, and the table was set. "What is this?"

"Something special," Han told her as he pulled out a chair for her. "The kids are at Luke and Mara's for the night, Chewie took Threepio to help him with something…"

"It's just us? All night?"

His grin confirmed for her all she needed to know.


	42. Week Eleven, UDC 4 - Jaden Family

Week 11 - 6/15/09 - UDC 4 – Jaden Family (AU)

* * *

51. **Bite the Bullet**

* * *

She couldn't stop biting her lip through the entire briefing. For some reason she didn't know, when the plan of attack was described, there was a sudden prodding from nowhere for her to say something. Maybe it was the waking dream she'd had? But that couldn't happen, not in that way… her father was not going to die if she didn't say a word. Was he?

Shakily, she stood up in response to the call for questions and looked at everyone there. Friends… people she'd come to know and trust… her own family. She couldn't keep silent.

* * *

52. **Break the Ice**

* * *

"Renna?" her mother asked, concern evident in her voice.

Renna ignored her mother and stared straight at her father without blinking. "I'm going with you."

Her father stared back at her, questions in his eyes as he considered the resolve in hers. For minutes unknown, they just looked at each other. Finally, he nodded. "All right."

"Temaru," her mother started to protest, but stopped when he raised his hand to forestall her. "What?"

"Renna wants to go with me, then she goes with me." Renna sat back down her chair, at once relieved and also somewhat sick to her stomach.

* * *

53. **Knock on Wood**

* * *

She couldn't meet his eyes as the meeting broke up. Renna knew that if she looked at him, she'd confess to what she'd seen and why she wanted to go. She wasn't certain how her brother would react to that knowledge. "You can stop staring at me, Torath."

A hand on her arm made her want to look at him. "You're nervous."

"It's nothing."

A chuckle. "Really…"

"Just let it go, all right?"

"Promise to live through today." It wasn't a question, or even a joke.

She smiled without looking at him. "Promise." Unspoken was the promise that their father would, too.

* * *

54. **Off the Hook**

* * *

Jaelle watched as her mother sorted through the weapons they'd need, and frowned. "You really think you'll be needing that one?"

Widia blinked and looked at her. "Of course."

"They'd kill us all on sight if you so much as wore it in public."

Widia glanced down at the long unused lightsaber handle in her hand, then looked at her daughter. "Jaelle…"

"It's true, isn't it?"

"No. First there'd be interrogations, then there'd be death." Widia clipped the handle to her belt. She'd not ever had an opportunity to use it, and maybe she wouldn't have to, but it never hurt to be prepared.

* * *

55. **Back Seat Driver**

* * *

In the heat of the firefight in the square in front of Theed Palace, Renna was the only one to see the soldier who aimed at her father. The only one in place to stop that which she knew couldn't happen. She lunged at the attacker, knocking the weapon away with a wild yell that must have startled the guy over the din.

With one punch, she knocked him unconscious. And then, panting, she carefully stood up again and rejoined the ruckus at her father's side, weapon in hand, and scowl on her normally calm face. Nobody nearly killed her family members. Nobody.


	43. Week Eleven, UDC 1 - Day After

Week 11 (09.16.06) (UDC 1) - Jaden Family (Day After...)

* * *

51. **dawn**

* * *

The streets were quiet, now that the celebrations were over. As they walked hand in hand in the morning shadows, Renna turned and looked at her father. "I think I need to tell you something."

Temaru shook his head. "No. No, you don't." She moved to speak again, and he shushed her.

Staring at him for a moment longer, Renna accepted what he was trying to tell her with his silence. He'd seen it out of the corner of his eye in the middle of all that, and he wasn't going to belittle the moment by letting her make sense of it when it didn't make any sense.

* * *

52. **morning**

* * *

Torath was waiting at the door when they got back to the compound, and Renna tilted her head in question at her younger brother. He motioned to the doorway, and wasn't surprised in the least when their father disappeared quickly through it. "Back in one piece, I see..."

Renna looked him in the eyes, wishing she'd been able to do so before. "So are you."

He noticed she seemed more relaxed than before, and nodded. "One thing, though..."

"And that would be?"

"Mom got grazed by blaster fire." At the widening of her eyes, he shook his head. "But other than that, she's fine."

Renna let out the breath she didn't even realize she'd been holding in.

* * *

53. **noon**

* * *

He stared at her as she sat on a crate across from him. So many times, they'd both promised to pull each other through with a look and a nod, and it all echoed down to right now, sitting quietly and both of them knowing how close each had come to failing in their promises.

"It was close," he finally said, breaking the silence. "If Renna hadn't been there, covering..."

Widia shuddered and reached for his hand with her uninjured arm, offering reassurance that she could not put into words.

* * *

54. **dusk**

* * *

Renna was sitting outside, watching as the last rays of light disappeared from the sky, when a noise made her turn. She smiled when she found Samir watching her from the doorway. "Hi."

Samir joined her, put an arm around her shoulders. "Pretty night."

"You didn't come out here to chat about the weather, Samir."

"No, I didn't."

She glanced at him, still smiling. "You going to ask him?"

He turned his head and met her steady gaze. "I did say I'd talk to him, didn't I?"

"Yes."

Without another word, Samir nodded and headed inside to do something that had been put off by simply being a part of the resistance: asking her father's permission for courtship.

* * *

55. **evening**

* * *

Temaru found her outside, staring up at the night sky. Watching her, he frowned in remembrance. Had it been that long? "Widia?"

"Just wondering," she told him as he wrapped her in his arms. "Hoping, really."

Smelling the aroma of her hair, he let himself look. Was she out there? If so, where? "It's good to hope and wonder."

Widia let herself be soothed by the gentle embrace. "So much has happened... do you think she is out there, somewhere?"

"Yes." The simple answer was all she needed to keep on believing.


	44. Week Eleven, UDC 2 - Explanations Owed

A/N: This one has to do with a diary challenge story that isn't posted on FFN, but Ranko really did owe them an explanation...

* * *

Week 11 (12.03.07) (UDC 2) - So... thirty-five years, one galactic civil war, and an invasion attempt or two ago, Ranko owed Melissa and Tom an explanation. And Lunch.

* * *

51. **Young**

* * *

As she opened the door at eleven AM that morning, Melissa felt anything but young. Finding Ranko standing on her doorstep with a baby in her arms only served to drive the point farther home. "Um..."

"I promised you lunch," Ranko told her by way of an explanation.

"You did?"

"And an explanation." Ranko glanced down at the babe in her arms and then looked at Melissa again. "You're wondering about the little one, aren't you?"

"I am. Also wondering when you promised to take me to lunch."

"A while ago, Melissa."

* * *

52. **In-Between**

* * *

Melissa stared at her for another moment before turning and looking at the calendar hanging in the entryway. Had it been twenty years? She'd lost track... hadn't even given it another thought. "Oh. How time flies."

Ranko chuckled. "You have no idea."

"There's an explanation for your suddenly having a baby-"

"Two, actually, and yes. There is." Ranko paused. "Is Tom home today or no?"

"He is."

"Good. Come on over to the house around noonish."

Melissa watched her go, frowning in thought. It was ludicrous to even think it, but... hadn't they just all returned earlier in the week?

* * *

53. **Old**

* * *

Hands meeting his shoulders from behind didn't even phase him as he worked on a model. "Who was at the door?"

"We're invited to lunch at the Johnson residence," Melissa told him.

"Ranko or Peter?"

"Ranko and an infant."

Tom turned and looked at her funny for a moment. "What?"

Melissa laughed, relieved that she wasn't the only one confused. "That was my thought, too. I was starting to think I'd missed an announcement somewhere."

Tom turned back to his model, considering it for a moment. "It's times like this where I feel old."

She kissed his cheek. "You're far from that, Tom."

* * *

54. **Foolish**

* * *

"So..." Tom began as they sat around the table in Peter and Ranko's kitchen, enjoying sandwiches and chips. "When were they born?" he motioned to the rollaway crib where two babies lay.

"Five days ago," Ranko told him with a smile. "It was bad planning and a little foolish to have some alone time out on the trip."

"Oh, I wouldn't say that," Peter told her, smiling. "Was kind of fun."

"And then you kept me out of anything major for five straight months once you knew."

Tom frowned. Something about the way she said it was stirring in his reccolection. "What?"

"Nothing to tell, Tom," Ranko muttered. "And it was twenty years ago for you."

"Oh."

* * *

55. **Wise**

* * *

"So this explanation you were going to give us," Melissa wondered. "I do remember you saying something about the one time something didn't work right or something to that effect."

"We ended up stuck somewhere because the Frisbee completely decharged two years ago on a training trip. Long story short: Peter made a fool of himself when I tried to get him to shush and the girl I was helping was a quick learner and understood him."

Melissa glanced at Peter, frowning when she saw that he was shaking his head. "And I'm guessing there's more to it than that, right?"

"We got to study Jedi lore," Ranko finally admitted. "With actual Jedi."

As one, they both stared at her, not sure what to make of that admission.


	45. Week Eleven, UDC 3 - Roganda Ismaren

Week 11 - 11/17/08 - UDC 3

* * *

51. **Denial**

* * *

Leia watched the woman with shrewd eyes. She knew her. More than that, the woman had been a member of the Imperial court... an entertainer, as it were. So why was she following Han Solo around? It made no sense.

A glance in her direction, a pause, and then looking away almost as quickly as the attention had fallen on her. Leia blinked, confused by that reaction. There was something going on, and now she was certain of it. Han caught her watching them and shook his head, mouthing a word: "Later."

Leia nodded in return and continued to watch them.

* * *

52. **Sadness**

* * *

They were well into their second day in hyperspace when Han found her in the ship's lounge, staring at the plate of uneaten rations on the table. Sitting down across from her, he waited. He knew he didn't need to say anything, that she'd want to be the first to speak, and he was going to let her.

"It's my fault," she finally said, voice a whisper. "If I hadn't been so blindly loyal, Irek would be alive right now."

Han caught one of her hands with his, and she looked at him, eyes bright with unshed tears. There was nothing he could say.

* * *

53. **Anger**

* * *

He heard the comotion before he saw it, and stopped before turning the corner. Someone was yelling... very unintelligibly. Peeking around the corner, Wes frowned when he saw that woman he'd bumped into leaving the mess hall. She was hitting the icy walls and screaming as she did so. For a moment, he couldn't move, and then he couldn't stop himself.

He grabbed her from behind and let gravity pull them both down, and then he held her tightly as she screamed some more and tried to hit him. Minutes that felt like hours passed and by the time someone arrived to help, she was sobbing in his arms.

* * *

54. **Guilt**

* * *

Sitting on a bed in the medical area, she couldn't stop staring at her hands. She had multiple abrasions from hitting the icy walls, but that didn't matter. Her hands would heal up just fine, if she understood what the medical droid had said.

Glancing up, she found someone watching her cautiously. Or was he looking at her hands, just like she was? "It's my fault." And it was. Knowing all the risks involved, she had let her son be operated on. There was nothing she could do to change that fact, no matter how much she wanted things different.

* * *

55. **Acceptance**

* * *

She found him inside his ship, working on some part was, as was starting to be usual, not working.

"Hydrospanner," he muttered in her general direction, hand out expectantly.

Slowly, carefully, because her hands still hurt even covered in bacta bandages, she picked up the requested tool and gave it to him. "You should have let me kick those rocks, Captain."

Han paused and looked back at her. "Oh?"

"Yes."

"Fine. Next time you want to kick something, I won't stop you."

"Promise?"

"Yes."

The sincerity in his eyes made her smile. "Good."

"Even if that something you want to kick is a bulkhead."


	46. Week Twelve, UDC 4 - What if for an OC

Week 12 - 6/22/09 - UDC 4 - Exploring a "What If?" for an OC...

* * *

56. **Saint**

* * *

He stood watching the stars in his back yard, wondering what she'd meant by 'I'll take care of this'... what was that supposed to mean? As a brilliant silver flash rang out high overhead, Drev suddenly realized it wasn't stars he was looking at. Ships. He knew that particular shade of light fluently. She wouldn't... couldn't...

Another flash, and he realized that she would... did. Against invaders of unknown origin, in defense of her adopted planet, and without talking to him about it, the woman he loved had voluntarily and summarily given her life. And he could only watch.

* * *

57. **Sinner**

* * *

It was a bright, sunny, and very hot day when she awoke. Sitting up, dazed, she looked around at the meadow, then down at herself... to discover an outfit long ago discarded. It was burnt exactly the way she remembered it... and she hadn't been wearing it when last awake and aware in the skies over Sacorria.

Standing up, she realized it was a meadow on a hilltop, looking down into a valley with a town in it. She scrutinized the trees, not wanting to admit it to herself that she was seeing oak trees. Sighing, and more than a little sore, she began the very long trek to town. Maybe along the way, she'd find a change of clothes.

* * *

58. **Savior**

* * *

Drev sat on the doorstep, trying to figure out how to explain what had happened to himself. She had saved them all. Saved them. Saved a people she had grown to love. That was the only way it made sense.

Moments went by and the only sound in the darkness was the wind and his breathing. He jumped when someone joined him, startled because he hadn't been expecting anyone to come. He tried to speak, but words wouldn't come.

Pettia didn't say a word as she pulled him into an embrace. Without him saying or explaining anything, his sister knew. How could she not?

* * *

59. **Killer**

* * *

It was happening. Here, and right now as she stood and stared upward. There was no time, and the defense force would lose outright. She knew this. Turning to get one last look at her husband, Taloh knew with a certainty that she would not and could not let it happen here. Not to these people.

She pulled him close, kissed him hard and meaningfully, and pulled away. "Stay. I'll take care of this." And with a steely determination, she marched off to find a ship to do the one thing she never wanted to do again: kill.

* * *

60. **Martyr**

* * *

"Everyone saw the flashes," she said after a while. When he didn't move or look up, Pettia tried again. "The entire planet knows we were saved. They'll want to know how. And why."

Drev raised his head to look at her. "Love."

"They're going to want more than that."

"That's all there is." He stared up at the sky again, and realized that there were real stars now and not hundreds of ships. "And that's all anyone, everyone, needs to know." She would not be a martyr. She wouldn't have wanted it that way.


	47. Week Twelve, UDC 1

Week 12 (09.22.06) (UDC 1)

* * *

56. **good**

* * *

She leaned into hands, welcoming the subtle manipulations of too-tight shoulder muscles. "Mmmm… you're hired."

He chuckled. "Oh?"

She craned her neck to look at him. "Yes. Don't stop."

"Don't plan to." He massaged her shoulders in silence for a few minutes. "Mara?"

"Hmmm?"

"The shipping manifests can wait."

Inwardly, Mara smiled. He was learning. "Due tomorrow."

"Then do them tomorrow."

Not only was he learning, but he was good, too… "You going to help in the event that I let it wait?"

"Yes."

As he kneaded one particularly stubborn knot, Mara smirked. In that case… "Mellon scented."

* * *

57. **evil**

* * *

It had taken him hours to figure out why she'd smirked at him when he'd volunteered to help with the manifests. Unfortunately, by then, he was elbow-deep in a datapad, reading off numbers to her.

After three hours and way too many sets of numbers for him to even try to keep track of, Luke decided that shipping manifests were evil, evil things. He'd have gladly faced the reborn emperor again than volunteer for inventory and monthly manifests…

"Luke?" Mara asked when at last they were done.

"What?"

She kissed him, smiled. "Thank you."

* * *

58. **dream**

* * *

Mara sat down on the edge of the bed and just watched her little one slumber with the innocence only a child could have. She often wondered what he was dreaming, and in moments like this where he was smiling in his sleep, she didn't have to wonder. It was something good, whatever it was.

After a few minutes of watching, she slowly got up and met Luke at the door with a finger to her lips to shush him. She let him look in, then softly closed the door and led him to their room.

* * *

59. **nightmare**

* * *

She sat in a small café and stared at the date printed on the front page of the newspaper in shock. A week? It had only been a week? That just couldn't be. It couldn't. Everything she'd seen and done. People she'd met and grown to know and love. Her husband of more than ten years. It never happened? She'd dreamed it? All of it?

Alone in a café filled with people going about their day, a woman can only stare at a date, impossibly printed on a newspaper. She had dreamed a whole other life… and this… travesty was a nightmare. It couldn't be anything else.

* * *

60. **truth**

* * *

"Truth or dare?"

Leia had think about it for a long minute as she stared into his brown eyes. "Truth." No way was she letting him dare her to do anything. She knew better.

Han smiled. "All right… Will you kiss me now?"

That was simple. "Yes." And she did. When they parted, she returned his smile. "Truth or dare?" After all… turnabout was fair play, was it not?

His answer was swallowed by the sound of the Falcon's engines as he leaned in to kiss her again. She never did figure out what she was going to ask him…


	48. Week Twelve, UDC 2

Week 12 (12.10.07) (UDC 2)

* * *

56. **Trial**

* * *

Cade continued to look at the vials in his hand long after the irritating specter had left. What did he care… everything was the way it was now, he couldn't change it.

"He's not wrong, you know," a childish, feminine voice spoke up from nowhere, startling him. He blinked and looked to find a girl standing there, translucent, red-blonde hair… wearing a jump suit with colors that seemed to shift at random. It reminded him of something called a mood ring.

"Who are you?"

She rolled her eyes at him. "Family. But I'm not about to lecture you on how everything is a trial."

* * *

57. **Test**

* * *

The woman laid on a bedroll, scrawling notes on a piece of flimsy with a pen that kept going dry on her far too often. She'd been left alone for hours, listening to the horrors just on the other side of the open door with half her attention... it didn't matter. None of it did. Voices came closer and she didn't bother to look up. It didn't matter who it was.

"This is your test, Mylar," a voice said from above her and she felt like rolling her eyes. Not another new idiot who didn't know right from left.

She continued to scrawl notes as footsteps receded, then glanced up at the man. Hmm... this had possibilities...

* * *

58. **Preparation**

* * *

The preparations had been simple: they'd shown up, found a secluded spot they liked, and dragged their loved ones along for the ride. Now, standing here in front of the man she loved, she was glad they'd taken matters into their own hands. This was a moment she wanted, that she hadn't wanted any interference with… and it was hers to have.

They said the words together, intermixed and overlapping… and just like that, the ceremony was over and she was kissing him.

"I love you," she whispered into his ear before kissing him again. His smile when they parted said all she needed to know.

* * *

59. **Fail**

* * *

Cade continued to stare at the translucent, glowing person currently standing in his cargo hold. Family? "Um…"

"Is it the ghost thing?"

"Um…"

"Must be the ghost thing." She sat down beside him, smiling, and he noticed that the smile failed to reach her eyes completely. "I don't see why you're so shocked, but…"

"I'm not."

"If you say so." She studied him some more. "Dad means well… he just wants to see you succeed. Or get involved. One or the other… they don't always go hand in hand."

Cade frowned. Dad? This got more intriguing the more she talked…

* * *

60. **Pass**

* * *

The girl stood up again, sighed. "Anyway, just wanted to tell you that… or explain him a little."

Cade wasn't certain what to say as she started to fade out, but he knew he didn't want her to leave just yet. "Stay."

She faded back in, appearing to be surprised. "Why?"

"Can you stay for a little bit?"

Smirking, she picked up a stray tool and passed it to him. "Sure. I can do that…"

He caught the tool, surprised again at her actions. He hadn't seen many ghosts before, but he was pretty certain they weren't able to pick things up and toss them in a controlled manner like that…


	49. Week Twelve, UDC 3

Week 12 - 12/1/08 - UDC 3

* * *

56. **Comet**

* * *

He dropped out of hyperspace to change his vector and paused for a moment. Out there in the distance was a chunk of rock with a tail that just seemed to be falling through space. It wasn't often that he stopped to look around, notice the wonders, but this… it was beautiful. From a distance, it was majestic. From a distance… but up close, it wasn't that way. Up close, it had the potential to create disaster.

Shaking himself out of his reverie, he moved to help his R2 unit plot the next jump. Hyperspace, like a comet, was also as dangerous as it was beautiful.

* * *

57. **Star**

* * *

"What is this for?"

"It's a mark of achievement. A positive one."

"Hmmm… does it have to be so cute?"

"You're troubled because of the cuteness?"

"Yes."

"Come here."

There was giggling. "Luke! Stop it! Stop tickling me!"

Silence. "All right, Mara. I'll stop tickling you… You're cute when you giggle."

Mara didn't have the chance to retort because at once he was kissing her and she clean forgot what she was going to say.

Abandonded on the desk beside them was a sheet of flimsy where the achievements of students were listed. Luke had given her a gold star.

* * *

58. **Planet**

* * *

She didn't like this place, with the odd smells and the creaking and the disgusting habits shown by it's people. Of all the planets on all the trade runs… she'd have rather gone to Msst and gotten clobbered by a blob than come here.

Trudging through the streets, she tried to ignore the filth and the grime. Just do this, get the information she came for, and get out. That's all she wanted to do… but just finding the contact was turning out to be a chore unto itself. That made it even more miserable.

* * *

59. **Moon**

* * *

"This place has no atmosphere," the teenager said as he plopped down into a chair beside him. "Absolutely none."

Ben rolled his eyes at his cousin. "That's usually how moons are, you know. Lacking of atmosphere."

"Thank you." He shifted, looking at what Ben was doing with a frown. "Are you playing solitare with Sabacc cards?"

"As you said, this place has no atmosphere," Ben told him with a smirk as he laid down a card only to have to pick it up again when the pattern changed.

"The suits won't stay the same."

"That's half the fun."

"You're bored," his cousin realized.

"Very."

"Ah."

* * *

60. **Nebula**

* * *

The interstellar gas that made up the nebula was breath-taking. That was the first thing she noticed when she entered the bridge and looked out of a portal. The colors shifted and danced across the panels, and there were little spirals that completed it. To be so close… it was amazing.

Presently, Karrde cleared his throat, and Mara blinked at him. He motioned her in with his head, and she nodded. Right… they were here to work, not admire the things outside.


	50. Week 13, UDC 4 - Luke and Mara

Week 13 - 6/29/09 – UDC 4

* * *

61. **Hold Back the Darkness**

* * *

A hand grabbed hers and her first instinct was to strike out, to punch… to get away from the touch. Two seconds of thought put things in perspective. This was right. It was right to let the touching happen. Slowly, deliberately… she squeezed his hand in acknowledgement. They could do this together.

Together, they could stand. And only together would it be held at bay. Darkness knawed at her from the edges… and it was going to stay where it was. No backing down, no giving in. Not even one inch. This… whatever it was between them? It mattered.

* * *

62. **Take a Stand**

* * *

Taking a deep breath, she glanced at him. Was this right? When he stole a look over at her, their eyes met and her doubts disappeared. Of course it was.

"You ready?"

"As I'll ever be."

He paused, considering her answer with a frown. "We don't have to do this today, Mara. It can wait."

"It's important to you."

"And…?"

She reached up and smoothed his hair down with her hand. "What if I'm just being silly, hmm? We said we'd do this today, so today it is."

"But if you are unsure…"

"Farmboy?"

"Hmmm?"

"Hush."

* * *

63. **When You're Lost**

* * *

Luke lost himself for a moment in her eyes, searching for something in her gaze to give him some clue as to what to say. In truth, they hadn't really talked about this. He'd asked her and she'd said yes, consenting… but that wasn't the same as discussing it. Was this what she wanted? "Mara?"

"I had my doubts," she said slowly, deliberately as she continued to cup his cheek with her free hand. "I don't have those anymore."

He wanted to ask her why, but she silenced him with a kiss, rebuking him silently over their shared bond.

* * *

64. **No Solid Ground**

* * *

Minutes passed as she reassured him of her sureness, not in words, but with simple physical contact. He lost himself in the moment, and all questions ceased to matter. The only thing that mattered was this moment, here, with her.

Mara wanted to tell him why she was sure, but the reasons melted away until there was only one… because it was the right thing. The right thing for them, just in this moment. And now.

Explanations, if they still needed them, could wait a while.

* * *

65. **There's Only Us**

* * *

A giggle, and reality reluctantly resumed as the kiss was broken and they both looked down at the baby held in Mara's other arm. Mara smiled and then locked eyes with Luke. "I think he agrees, don't you?"

Luke blinked, sharing her smile. "Yes, I think he does."

"You ready to have your holo taken?"

"If I said no, would we be doing this anyway?"

"Yes."

"Then yes. I'm ready to have my holo taken."

Days later, Leia got one of the best presents she'd ever received: a holo of her brother, his wife, and their infant son.


	51. Week 13, UDC 1

Week 13 (09.29.06) (UDC 1)

* * *

61. **kiss**

* * *

Han walked in on a moment between his brother-in-law and Mara that gave him pause. They were in each other's arms, kissing tenderly. He was about to interrupt them or clear his throat when Luke started making shooing motions with his hand. Han blinked, considered that a moment longer, and left them to it.

Luke, still kind of lost in the kiss, was glad that Han hadn't done what he'd thought he was going to do. Whatever it was, it could wait a little while… _Mara?_

_Hmmm?_

_I… forget._

_Then I must be doing something right…_

* * *

62. **hug**

* * *

They stood at a window, looking out over the recaptured city-planet and she felt secure in his arms. It was one thing to see it through, but another to be here, standing among such familiarity, only to find it foreign at the same time. She had grown up looking out these windows, looking out at the buildings. "We have to move sometime, Wes."

"What if I don't want to just yet?" He nuzzled her hair, and she leaned back into him.

"That works for me," Roganda admitted, sighing in contentment. And it did… she didn't want to leave his embrace just yet, either.

* * *

63. **smile**

* * *

His smile was the first thing she saw upon waking, and Jaina couldn't help but blink. She'd never seen him smile before, not like this. Slowly, she raised a hand and traced his jawline. "I don't want this moment to end."

Jag continued to smile. "It doesn't have to."

"We can stay right here all day?"

"If you want."

At about that moment, she started to wonder if the man looking down at her was an imposter. "Jag?"

"Yes?"

"Who are you and what did you do with the real you?"

"You don't want to stay in bed after all?"

"Didn't say that…"

* * *

64. **frown**

* * *

Anakin frowned suddenly, realizing the implications of her threat. Knowing her as well as he did, knew she didn't joke about medical treatment of any kind. He looked at his cousin, who was still in training to be a healer, and also knew that he'd be up for it, possibly, if such a case arose. Not that either of them wanted to get injured… at all.

"Well?" Ailee asked after making sure the synthflesh was secure and practically unnoticeable.

Anakin nodded. "I promise to be careful."

"Good."

* * *

65. **laugh**

* * *

It had happened so suddenly that no one at first knew what to think or how to react. In a split second, Palpatine had slipped on the edge of his robe, fallen backwards, and landed flat on his behind. As he slowly got to his feet without help, he waited for someone to say something, for some kind of reaction. When it didn't come, he shrugged and continued on his way.

Once he was far out of earshot, the people still in the corridor looked at each other, blinked, and nearly busted a gut laughing collectively.


	52. Week 13, UDC 2

Week 13 (12.17.07) – UDC 2

* * *

61. **Festive**

* * *

In the shadows  
of a street on Nar Shaddaa  
a woman  
waits

In the shadows  
of a street on Nar Shaddaa  
time  
is not  
standing still

In the shadows  
of a street on Nar Shaddaa  
an old woman watches  
as celebration,  
however meager the circumstances  
occurs

In the shadows  
of a street on Nar Shaddaa  
among the lost  
and the hopeless  
celebration  
has  
no meaning

In the shadows  
of a street on Nar Shaddaa  
an old woman  
watches  
and remembers dimly  
celebrations  
of time forgotten

In the shadows  
of a street on Nar Shaddaa  
An old woman waits  
for time  
to have meaning again

In the shadows  
of a street on Nar Shaddaa  
an old woman  
waits

* * *

62. **Wish**

* * *

It had started out as a longing, to smell and be seen and talk to everyone she saw. It had started out that way… now it was a wish. And she knew what wishes were. Wishes were something that one wanted but would never happen… it was a wish she longed to make, to have someone listen to her as she made it. To have granted.

The little girl watched longingly as her mother held her new baby sister up for her to see, and they shared a moment, looking into each other's eyes. They wanted the same thing.

* * *

63. **Gift**

* * *

It was a simple trinket, nothing more than a shiny rock. The teenager stared at it for long moments, trying to understand the gesture… and, for that matter, the gift. "I don't understand… why are you giving me a rock, Luke?"

Luke sighed in frustration. "Because I think it's pretty and I want you to have it, Mara."

She studied the rock some more, then gently took it from him, smiling. "All right…" Mara pulled something out of her pocket and handed it to him. "For you." She'd picked up during the field trip to the lower levels, and now it reminded her of him. Boys liked unidentifiable chunks of what could have been a lightsaber crystal, right?

* * *

64. **Naughty**

* * *

He found her sitting on the floor of a room that gave him unpleasant déjà vu, dismantling an apparatus with a precision that didn't surprise him in the least. "Tamblyn said you'd be in here."

"And you were worried?"

"No…" She glanced at him with raised eyebrows and he winced. "Maybe a little."

"Hmmm… had to take this thing apart. One small victory for me, you know?"

"I know." And he did… it wasn't much on the grand scale of things, but it was enough. One last thing to banish, to see through, even if the damage could never truly be undone.

* * *

65. **Nice**

* * *

"Raven?"

"Yes, Larry?"

He watched as she continued to take the thing apart, expression determined. Hard. "If and when we ever have children, you are not singing that song to them. Ever."

Raven blinked up at him, slightly confused. "What song… Oh. THAT song." Laughing, she stood up and put her arms around him. "I scarred you for life, hmm?"

"Yes."

He was startled when she started singing it and leading him in a slow dance carefully around the room, avoiding the apparatus as she did so. Maybe there was one more thing to reclaim, after all…


	53. Week 13, UDC 3

Week 13 - 12/8/08 – UDC 3

* * *

61. **Sunshine**

* * *

The early morning sunlight made her squint as they disembarked from the Falcon and set foot on planetary soil for the first time since leaving Endor a week earlier. Sure, it was a space port, and yes, it was dull and drab and like every other space port Leia had seen… But the sunshine felt nice and the smells reminded her of home. She closed her eyes, allowing for a moment to forget that time had passed…

A questioning hand on her shoulder, and Leia had only to pause, smiling. They were right here with her, and that was all that mattered.

* * *

62. **Overcast**

* * *

Jacen looked out the 'window' of the family apartment, glum because the sky was gray and filled with clouds. He'd wanted to go outside today, to run around on the roof, to explore the crevices and find things… but they couldn't. School work came first, according to his father.

"Master Jacen?" an unwelcome, mechanical voice asked, interrupting his reverie.

Jacen turned back to his studies with a rebellious glare thrown at Threepio. So what if he didn't know what a parabola was… did they have to make him learn about it?

* * *

63. **Rain**

* * *

She stood at the hangar door, looking out on to the landing field and knowing it was going to be very soggy. Rain meant that it was going to be even more muggy when it finally did let up. Rain meant lots and lots of mud to trudge through if she wanted to go outside for anything.

A noise made her turn, and she blinked to find Zekk standing there. "Hi."

Zekk didn't say anything in reply, but instead took her hand and pulled her gently into the downpour with a mischievous smile.

Jaina learned not to dislike the rain so much…

* * *

64. **Snow**

* * *

Even here in Coruscant's polar region, snow reminded him of that long, blustery night on Hoth. Sourrounded by his wife and children made it bareable, and he could stand it for them. The Tauntaun underneath him was also a reminder… good and bad.

"Han?" Leia's cautious voice asked, and he looked to find her atop her own mount, watching him.

"I'm fine, Leia. Just…"

She reached out and took his hand. "I know. I was thinking about that today, too."

"How time flies, hmm?"

Under her parka, Leia chuckled. "Yes…"

* * *

65. **Wind**

* * *

"Think we could get Luke out here on one of these things?"

Leia braced against the wind, staring at him. "No, I don't think we could. Or even should…"

Han nodded. He didn't think that would have gone over well, either… "Scary to think about, even under controlled conditions." And it was. Even Mara, who hadn't been there, knew better than to bring up the subject of riding Tauntauns to Luke. He'd not exactly been pleased at the news of the attraction to begin with, but to bring him here…

Leia squeezed his hand, and Han looked at her. "Come on. The kids will start to worry." He nodded and followed her at a gallup.


	54. Week 14, UDC 4

Week 14 - 7/6/09 - UDC 4

* * *

66. **Whispering**

* * *

There were voices whispering above her, though she couldn't make out what they were saying and couldn't understand. Darkness held tightly and mired her in the muck of exhaustion, and all she wanted to do was sleep.

How long had it been? Did it matter? Sleep-encrusted eye lids struggled to open, and as the brightness hit her, Mara grunted and squeezed them shut again. Everything hurt, and it didn't matter how long it had been. She just wanted them to speak up or move away and give her some peace. Was that too much to ask? She didn't think it was.

* * *

67. **Haunting**

* * *

Faces came to her in the dead of night on Yavin 4 as she tried to at least pretend to sleep. Faces of those she'd failed, of those lost in a single instant. Sitting up and peering around in the darkness, Leia tried to calm herself and rationalize that there was nothing she could have done. Would it have happened either way? Would Grand Moff Tarkin have given the order if she'd allowed them to break her will with that interrogation droid? She didn't know.

Sitting in the darkness of her quarters, it is one of many unanswered questions that will haunt Leia Organa for a very long time.

* * *

68. **Lingering**

* * *

Owen stared at the bundle in his wife's arms, uncertain at first of how to take the news that something bad had happened out there. He had only met his stepbrother once, but it had been enough to begin to care. Or try to. He remembered how Shmi would stand out here, staring upward at the night sky… he still felt her presence out here… especially tonight. He slowly put his arm around Beru's shoulders and let the feeling of loss curdle to the surface.

It hadn't been that long, after all. And not all was lost.

* * *

69. **Echoing**

* * *

Beru watched the toddler play with a set of blocks and couldn't help but smile. Here, playing on the floor, was an echo of something she'd seen in Shmi's eyes… hope. A child's hope. A mother's hope… rolled into one. She knew she wasn't this little one's mother, but she couldn't help feeling like she was as times.

Luke glanced up from his blocks and caught her staring at him, and she looked away. "Are you sad?"

"No, Luke. Not sad." Gently, she eased herself down onto the floor beside him. "Not at all."

* * *

70. **Murmuring**

* * *

The voices were back, intruding on her sleep, and Mara wanted them to go away again. Wanted to hide just a while longer, only she wasn't quite certain from what. What was it that had slammed into her, leaving her exhausted? She couldn't remember.

One of her eyes opened not under her own power and a bright light was shined into it, and then the same thing happened to the other one. She grunted and tried to move, but found she couldn't… what was going on here?

Blinking her eyes open, she discovered the hardened face of an Imperial Captian. A woman… and suddenly wished for the blackness again.


	55. Week 14, UDC 1 - Poor, Poor Luke

A/N: With the permission of a moderator, and because it was Tax Season, Luke ended up with something kinda embarrassing...

* * *

Week 14 (10.09.06) – UDC 1 – Never long for the exotic…

* * *

66. **sun**

* * *

The light was bright and clear as Luke strolled along the perimeter of the new base. This wasn't exactly the place he'd been thinking of when they'd said "it's a planet in the Jusen system." He'd been thinking a little more… exotic. But he liked the frequent rain.

Somewhere out past the perimeter, he stumbled over a rock and fell into a pond face first. Getting out of it, he vaguely heard someone in an accented voice say "oh, too bad sir…"

Brushing his hands over his clothes, he felt something… very out of place. "Uh…"

* * *

67. **moon**

* * *

It was dark by the time Luke got back to the base and all he wanted was a long, hot shower. Anything to forget what the man out at the ponds had said after giving him some hot water to get warm again after falling into that spring. He glanced upward to see on of the two moons in the sky, and wondered if he'd missed evening meal.

"Kid! There you are!"

Luke sighed as Han greeted him and looked him over. "Hi."

"Where… why are you dirty from head to toe?"

Luke sighed. He just didn't want to explain that one.

* * *

68. **stars**

* * *

Luke took a deep breath, trying to find a way to phrase it. How exactly did one explain what had really happened out there? "I had a mishap on my walk. A very filthy mishap." He started to go, and then turned back to Han. "And Han?"

"Yes?"

"Don't fall in any ponds."

Han stared after him, wondering what that was about. It was sound advice, though. "Right…" And had he seemed just a little shorter than usual? Maybe it was the light. "Oh, Luke?"

Luke turned back, looking at him tiredly. "Yes?"

"There's food in the mess hall still."

* * *

69. **clouds**

* * *

He glanced upward, noting the clouds in the sky and turned back to listen to Han as he rambled on about the recent supply trip he'd taken. Something about spare parts for the X-Wings and commissary supplies. A drop on his head was the first warning, and then it started to fall in force and Luke had to pause.

Han turned to look at him and his jaw dropped open. "Luke?"

"Tell me you don't see what I think you see. Please."

But he couldn't… "You're a girl? You weren't a girl five minutes ago!"

Luke sighed. "Wonderful."

* * *

70. **planet**

* * *

"It's water," Luke told him when they'd returned to the base. They were sitting in the lounge area of the Falcon, and Han hadn't stopped staring at her for five full minutes. "Cold water, specifically."

Han nodded slowly, collecting himself. "And how did it happen?"

"You remember how I came back to base all filthy?"

"Yes…"

"Fell into a pond. It was cursed. Hot water fixes it temporarily." Han just blinked at him in confusion. "What?"

"You… turn into a woman? With water?"

Luke sighed again. It was going to be a very long couple of hours…


	56. Week 14, UCD 2 - Jaden Family AU

Week 14 (1.7.08) – UDC 2 – Jaden Family (AU)

* * *

66. **Love**

* * *

She laid on a bedroll with him, content to stay where they were until getting up could no longer be avoided. The night was beautiful, the stars shining brightly in the Nubian sky. "Samir?"

"Hmmm?"

Renna enjoyed the feel of her hair being ruffled as he breathed. "Think it's going to rain?"

"On a night like this? No."

She smiled some more. Now there really were no excuses to move inside the tent. "Didn't think so." She wondered what her family was doing… they commed regularly, but it wasn't the same as being in the same hemisphere all at once.

* * *

67. **Credits**

* * *

They weren't doing the reconstruction projects for money, but the people not attachted to the projects still offered what little they had. When turned down, which happened fairly frequently, the people offered assistance instead. Renna was glad of that… it meant they cared what happened to their land just as much as she did.

Sitting down next to a little boy, she offered him a piece of dried fruit from her rations. He stared at her for a long moment before taking it, not used to such kind gestures from strangers. She wanted to help everybody, and a little at a time, one person at a time, she was.

* * *

68. **Power**

* * *

Relaxing into a meditative state with her husband at her side, Widia Jaden let her power spread outward, feeling out the differences. War was over, but there'd been no answer, no explanation. Something out there was different… but what? No answer came. No distinct ones, anyway.

She opened her eyes and she and her husband shared a moment, a thought. The same wondering thought. Had it really ended? And if the darkness was over… where, how were they going to find her? Was she alive?

It resonated between them, questions unasked, but definitely heard. Heard, but to remain unanswered for a long time.

* * *

69. **Pleasure**

* * *

Jaelle smiled as she watched her baby sister hold the newborn gently, glad that the hard part was over. The rest of her family was crowded in the smallish room, and she wouldn't have had it any other way. She craned her neck to look at the man sitting next to her on the bed, and smiled again. "Well?"

"Well, what," Nerun asked.

"A name… don't trust myself to pick one."

Nerun chuckled and leaned closer, his forehead touching hers. "That can wait until tomorrow, love."

She rolled her eyes and returned her attention to Renna, still cooing at the baby boy. Tomorrow…

* * *

70. **Pain**

* * *

Images and sensations woke her in the dead of night on Coruscant as she lay next to her lover. Panting and blinking in the dim light, Mara was uncertain what it was that had woken her… the images hadn't made much sense.

Luke rolled over suddenly and looked at her sleepily. "Mara?"

"It's nothing. A dream."

"Mmmm… strong enough for me to feel?"

He had her there, and she sighed as she laid back down. "It can wait." Something in the way he took her hand told her otherwise, but she chose to ignore it and go back to sleep.


	57. Week 14, UDC 3

Week 14 - 12/15/08 - UDC 3

* * *

66. **Allies**

* * *

The were wrestling Artoo's hard metal bulk over a fallen tree trunk when Mara noticed something weird and had to do a double take. Was she seeing things, or… "Skywalker?"

Luke sighed. "Happened when we crossed through that small stream five minutes ago. Still got that flask, Artoo?" The droid signaled in the affirmative and he nodded. "Good." They finished getting Artoo over the fallen tree and Luke held out a hand, waiting as a manipulator arm dropped a flask into her hand. Mara's jaw dropped open in shock as she watched the impossible happen. "It's a long story."

Had his voice actually gone down several octaves in the middle of a sentence?

* * *

67. **Enemies**

* * *

"And the long story is…" Mara trailed off, still staring at him.

"Fell into a pond once," he told her through clenched teeth as he carefully walked back to where the stream was and refilled the flask, then came back and gave it to Artoo. "And that's all."

Mara blinked, suddenly suspicious at the lack of further explanation. Then she remembered that he was supposed to be her captive, even out here in the forests of Myrykr. "Right…"

"I've been a sort of water magnet ever since," he told her, looking away.

* * *

68. **Spies**

* * *

"So," Luke said when they'd bedded down for the night in a clearing as large as they dared to. "You know my secret. Mind telling me your story, Jade?"

She wanted to ignore him, to stew in her own fury some more and not tell him exactly why she was upset, but the shrewd concern in his eyes made her soften slightly. Besides… how many men turned into a woman after being splashed? Somehow, she got the feeling that it was the tip of the proverbial iceberg. "I… was Imperial agent. You ruined my life."

* * *

69. **Smuggler**

* * *

Han stood with Luke beside the downed archway and whistled. "That's some trick you pulled, kid." At the younger man's silence, Han turned and studied him carefully. There was stress in his posture, almost as if… "Let me guess: you got splashed more than once."

"Good guess."

"How'd she take it?"

"Better than you did," Luke answered humorously. "But that's not it."

"Oh?"

"Did this without the Force." He motioned to the archway.

"Ah. Well… you had a good angle."

Luke just rolled his eyes and looked around, wondering where Lando was. "Where's…"

* * *

70. **Traitor**

* * *

Lando was being helped by one of Karrde's people while Mara watched them dispationately. She knew what this meant: Myrkyr was no longer a haven for Karrde's operation. Thrawn would know, and that's all there was to it.

Looking across the square, she again laid eyes on Skywalker, wondering… no.

Someone tapped her on the shoulder, and she turned to find Aves standing there. "What?"

"Karrde wants us to direct the egress operation. Let's go," he told her, his tone leaving no room for argument. With one last glare thrown over her shoulder, Mara went.


	58. Week Fifteen, UDC 4 - Roganda Ismaren

Week 15 - 7/13/09 - prompts provided by path-seeker (UDC 4)

* * *

71. **Restrained**

* * *

She held herself still as someone sat down next to her in the cold mess hall. Not knowing what to say or how these people operated, Roganda chose instead to be silent.

"There are questions that need to be asked and answered," a familiar voice told her quietly. "You know that."

Blinking, she stared at her hands, wondering why kind of answers she could give in this situation. Would Senator Organa even accept them if she gave them? Only one way to know: to ask. "I do." She'd been a member of the Imperial court, and here was the one person in the entire base that knew that.

* * *

72. **Controlled**

* * *

Leia studied the woman, wondering… how many layers were there to the truth? Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Han at another table, watching them while conversing with Luke. And what was the story of her sudden arrival? It made no sense. "Why are you here?"

Roganda didn't answer at first, but continued to stare at her hands, which Leia now noticed carried bandages. "I have no where else to be."

That simple answer intrigued her… and so did the bandages and the curious lack of a little one. Was it all connected in some way? .

* * *

73. **Defined**

* * *

Roganda glanced up and noticed that they'd gained an audience: Solo and that odd pilot who had stopped her from punching the wall repeatedly were watching them. Frowning, she turned to look at Leia. "I honestly don't know what you want to know, so you'd better ask, Your Highness."

"Leia," she told her simply. "There's no need for titles here. Not right now."

Roganda frowned again. "All right… You know I was a member of the Court. I'm not anymore."

Leia blinked at the openness, and at the barely-hidden pain. "I want to say I believe you…"

* * *

74. **Resolved**

* * *

Roganda listened as the sentence trailed off, realizing that this was her chance. Probably her only one. She pulled out a small device from her pocket and set it on the table in front of them. "I could have used this at any time, brought the Empire here without a second thought. I didn't."

Leia stared at the small device. Was that a tracking device of some kind? It looked like one. It wasn't something a dancer should have had. "Why didn't you?" She was met with silence as Roganda again didn't answer.

* * *

75. **Unlimited**

* * *

She plucked the device off the tabletop and returned it swiftly to her pocket. Why hadn't she? Was there even an answer to that? As she glanced at the two men watching, Roganda realized that there was. "Because I found a reason not to. Because I gave them my life, the life of my son, and it ended badly. Because… someone cared."

Leia turned to look at Han now, questioning him with her eyes. At the shake of his head, she blinked again. He was the one who had cared, and she'd been right… it was complicated. "Oh."


	59. Week Fifteen, UDC 1 - Pranks Gone Awry

A/N: How that pond that Luke fell into several sets ago ended up like that...

* * *

Week 15 (10.13.06) (UDC 1) – Of pranks gone awry...

* * *

71. **indifferent**

* * *

"Maybe this isn't such a good idea…"

"Merdin, you wanted to try this spell. Why wouldn't it be?"

Merdin sighed, rolling his eyes at his brother and glancing around at the foliage that reminded him of every other planet he'd ever been to… did they have to pick one so boring? "Because it's not a spell. It's a curse."

"And?" Merkye wondered. "I don't see the difference."

"What if someone falls in?"

"It's an uninhabited planet… other than the plants and the animals. Besides, the effects won't be permanent."

* * *

72. **exhausted**

* * *

His brother had a point. Not much of one, but a point all the same. "You're just saying that because there's no reason that you can see that anyone would ever want to stay here for very long if they didn't have a fairly good reason."

"You know me so well. Hand me the incense, would you?"

Merdin handed him the incense and tried to think of ways this wouldn't go wrong. He couldn't. "Not permanent, huh?"

"Yes… this place has the perfect mana concentration for it to work without making the effect permanent."

"You're weird, you know that?"

* * *

73. **hopeful**

* * *

Merkye chuckled. "Just because I want to pull someone's chain and they don't have a sense of humor doesn't make me weirder than you."

"Just remember to fireproof your clothes."

Merkye paused as he threw some rosemary into the bowl and stirred it. "Fire proof? You think it'd go that badly?"

"You think it wouldn't? You expect too much, then."

Merkye took that under consideration. It was practical, and likely necessary at the same time… fire elements were not to be toyed with without precautionary measures. "Good point." He put a few pinches of sage into the bowl, smirking as it flared pink.

* * *

74. **Relaxed**

* * *

Merdin stood by, watching as his… what was he supposed to describe his brother in this state? A sister? He shook his head and decided not to worry about it. He didn't want to get upset over pronouns. Anyway, his brother was practicing walking as a woman after having done a cannonball into the pond when the spell was finally complete. "Your walk is off. More sway, less… other."

Merkye nodded and practiced again, leaving Merdin to watch him and wonder why they'd come all this way just to do something that could have been done on Elidar.

* * *

75. **restless**

* * *

Kylan was furious. "You... You... Fire."

Merkye recognized the expression on his not so happy friend's face and started to back away slowly. "I only meant it as a joke, Kylan."

"No one pretends to be my fiance and gets away with it," Kylan muttered. He concentrated. "Fire."

Merkye suddenly had a sinking feeling. "Is it my fault you can't take a joke?" He felt something warm on his behind. "Kylan, don't do that."

"Fire," was all Kylan would say. He was too upset to say anything else.

Later, Merkye would realize that he should have put flame retardant on his underwear like he had the rest of his clothes.


	60. Week Fifteen, UDC 1-B Jaelle and Nerun

Week 15 (10.13.06) UDC 1 – A set for Jaelle and Nerun…

* * *

71. **indifferent**

* * *

She didn't want to even admit it. Not here, and not now… it had been easy to ignore in the thick of things. Easy to play it off as some sort of weird people thing… it happened, that was the way of it. As she stared at her hands, Jaelle knew one thing for certain: she wanted this. She wanted what he offered her with just a question.

But was it really as simple as saying 'yes'? Jaelle couldn't bring herself to believe that for an instant. Nothing was that simple. Was it?

* * *

72. **exhausted**

* * *

Over the head of a patient, he saw her watching him with tired eyes and he smiled slightly. They were all exhausted from staying up four days running on eighteen hour shifts, but he'd never found her more beautiful than in this moment. Tired to the bone, having seen far too much on too little sleep…

She glared at him mildly and Nerun blinked, reminded of the patient he was helping. Reverie about her beauty in all states could wait for a better time. "Does this hurt?"

"No."

"And here?"

The patient winced and glared at him. "Yes."

* * *

73. **hopeful**

* * *

"So…" he said after long moments of silence between them, fumbling for something to say to fill the void. "Did you hear from your family this week?"

Jaelle didn't even bother looking up from her hands. "It's hard not to when one's mother makes a point of demanding I come to dinner once a week, Nerun."

"That's not what I meant."

She wanted to laugh, just to make him less comfortable, but… now was not the time for levity as she at last turned to him. "I know. And yes."

Nerun stared at her. "Yes?"

"That's my answer. Yes."

* * *

74. **relaxed**

* * *

With a simple word, all the tension drained out of him and he sagged with relief. After all the travails of recent months, with the war and occupation over, he hadn't been certain how he felt or what to say. Working together, they'd grown closer until he'd had to admit that something was different. "I'm glad."

She put a gentle hand to his cheek and pulled him close. "You're sure you want to join my family?"

"Yes. Sure you want to join mine?"

She kissed him without answering the question.

* * *

75. **restless**

* * *

Something hadn't been right for a week or so, but Widia had been unable to figure it out. Her daughter had been dropping by to eat and take frequent naps on her couch… and slept for hours at a time, dead to the world around her no matter the noise level. Shaking Jaelle awake carefully, she stared at her. "Come on."

"What?" Jaelle asked sleepily.

"Just come with me." Jaelle got off the couch slowly and followed her mother to the 'fresher, where she was handed a testing kit. She stared at it, then looked at her mother in shock. "You don't think…"

"That's exactly what I think."


	61. Week Fifteen, UDC 2 - Dack and Mistal

Week 15 (1.14.08) – UDC 2 – Dack and Mistal, Duchess of Dargul

* * *

71. **Melody**

* * *

She hummed a tune of discontent as no word reached her of her missing consort. It had been six weeks, all she wanted was to see him now. Where was he? Had he been kidnapped, was he ill? All those questions and more had floated through her mind since first she'd discovered he was missing.

As Mistal gazed out the window of her estate, she continued to hum a melody that comforted her in times of stress. All she wanted was her love… was that too much to ask?

* * *

72. **Instrument**

* * *

A soft pinging noise interrupted her reverie and Mistal turned to find what instrument of the modern world demanded her attention. It was the comm unit… someone was comming her? She stared at it for a moment, puzzled, before crossing the room to answer it.

A minute later, she was grinning.

Five minutes later, she was out the door.

Fifteen minutes later, Mistal had boarded her ship for Umgul to reclaim her consort.

Three hours after that, she was placing a reward into the hands of one Lando Calrissian and a blob stable owner for the safe return of her misguided Dack.

* * *

73. **Rhythm**

* * *

There were three things Dack hadn't wanted to see again. Reasons why he'd run in the first place and done questionable things in order to stay very firmly away from her, and he reflected on those as she led him to her ship. One, she was far, far too clingy and he hadn't missed her in the slightest. Two, the estate was like a prison. And three… he kept tapping his foot rhythmically to remember what the third one was every time they stopped walking and she smothered him with attention.

As he boarded her ship, he shrugged. Maybe the third reason didn't matter.

* * *

74. **Sound**

* * *

Neither of them made a sound as they ate dinner that first night back under the same roof. Dack didn't want to talk to her, and Mistal was too busy watching him to care about conversing. She'd missed him so much. Didn't he understand that?

Dack glanced at her once, and immediately looked away. She was growing on him, even if he'd never wanted to see her again. He just wanted her to be a little less clingy.

Dinner complete, Mistal stood up and went to his side, kissing him before he could protest. There was nothing else said that night.

* * *

75. **Symphony**

* * *

He was so happy to be out of the palace and off of Dargul for once… plus or minus the fact that she was sitting next to him, arm firmly entwined with his. It wasn't perfect, but he could stand it. The music of the Cathedral of Winds more than made up for his personal discomfort, and the trip hadn't been that bad.

Letting his gaze wander, Dack noticed several dignitaries glancing at him with raised eyebrows. What where they looking at him like that for? Did he have something on his shirt?


	62. Week Fifteen, UDC 2 - Callista AU

**Week 15** - 12/22/08 - UDC 3

* * *

71. **Spicy**

* * *

He was enjoying evening meal when the door chime to his quarters went off, and he answered it to find a woman standing there. Wedge had only met her once, and then she hadn't spoken, but she'd been unforgettable with her grey eyes watching him from underneath full lashes.

Wordlessly, he let her in and offered her some of his dinner. He hadn't thought to warn her of the spicyness of the food, and was surprised when she didn't seem at all uncomfortable with it.

He did wonder what she was doing here, this far from Yavin 4, however.

* * *

72. **Sweet**

* * *

She wanted to say something to this man who had calmly let her in the door and offered food. She wanted to, but Callista couldn't bring herself to utter word one, and so she didn't say anything at all. He seemed genuinely concered, and she wondered if he really was, or if it was just an act. She couldn't feel him through the Force to find out.

When he picked up the dishes from the meal and did them in silence, she decided it must be genuine. Also kind of sweet, in it's own way.

* * *

73. **Sour**

* * *

Wedge offered her his bed for the night and she accepted with only a nod. For some reason, her refusal to speak was ringing a sour note with him, and he wasn't certain why. Was she really that shy around him?

After he was certain she was asleep, he left his quarters to find a comm station. There was a call he wanted to make that he didn't want her to overhear. He knew the relationship between her and his friend to be a private one, but he wasn't sure if she'd want him to call at all.

* * *

74. **Bitter**

* * *

Sleep was slow in coming as she laid on the bunk and stared at the bulkhead. She could have killed that Imperial woman in a heartbeat, without a second thought. For a glorious moment, the Force had been open wide and she'd rejoiced at suddenly being able to see where before only blankness had been. Only... it was darkness. And she wasn't that person, or that Imperial woman, either.

As open as she been, as wonderful as it had felt to bask in the dark glow of the Force even for a moment... now she knew what true bitterness felt like.

* * *

75. **Rotten**

* * *

It was the wee hours of the morning on Yavin 4 when Luke answered on the other end and Wedge told him what was what. The man, his friend, looked very relieved to hear that Callista was alive. There was something in his eyes as they talked, though, that Wedge found worrying. Whatever it was, it wasn't longing or even hope.

After the comm ended, he sat back to stare at the screen. She'd been aboard a star destroyer that had impacted Yavin... and open to the Force, the Dark Side, for however long it was... No wonder she didn't want to talk.


	63. Week Sixteen, UDC 4

**Week 16** - 7/20/09 - prompts provided by brodiew (UDC 4)

* * *

76. **Bend Over Backwards**

* * *

Callista stared at him, not quite understanding what he meant, but not wanting to voice her questions. He wanted her to do what?

Wedge sighed. "Look... it's not much, but Luke said once that you'd been trained as a Jedi. We have a unit that works covertly. If you'd like to." At her smile of understanding and a nod in the affirmative, a weight lifted off him. Good. "They might even let you get away with not talking... maybe an R2 unit?"

She frowned. "What for?"

Wedge was so startled at the sound of her voice that he nearly forgot to breathe.

* * *

77. **Axe to Grind**

* * *

At the sight of someone she'd last seen on a Star Destroyer in orbit of Yavin, she scowled. What right did that woman have to be at a treaty signing? A tap on her shoulder caused Callista to blink in confusion and she turned to find Wedge standing there, frowning at her. "What?"

"This is not the time or the place," he reminded her quietly. He nodded his head back toward the doors and she saw Luke and Mara Jade watching her. "And Luke told me to stop you before you did something stupid."

Callista blinked again, at once reminded that the dark side was always close at hand.

* * *

78. **Rise and Shine**

* * *

As he rose to consciousness, something filtered in through the haze. Someone was singing. Cam cracked open an eye to find Raven sitting against a wall... "Raven!"

She broke off and smiled at him innocently. "What?"

"You're not allowed to sing. Ever again."

Raven rolled her eyes and got to her feet. "Uh-huh... and after last night, none of the medical staff is allowed to drink themselves under the table, either."

He watched her leave, suddenly realizing two things: (1) this wasn't his quarters, and (2) she was paying him back for months and months of testing. At least the singing had been in key...

* * *

79. **Tongue and Cheek**

* * *

As they exited the ship, Mara picked up the child and held her. "Missed you, sweetie!"

"Missed you, too, Momma!"

"Anything exciting happen while we were gone?"

The child smiled. "We met new people! One of them fainted!"

Mara stared at her for a long, long moment before looking at Ailee, just now joining them on the landing pad. "What?"

Ailee shrugged, chuckling. "What she said. One of them DID faint, and they were new. They left yesterday."

Mara glanced at Luke. "The things we miss when we go somewhere."

* * *

80. **Without a Doubt**

* * *

Mara watched them talk quietly from a distance, wondering what the conversation was about. They hadn't seen each other in a very long time, not since the Darksaber incident, and... what was left for them to talk about? Or had they talked at all? It was confusing, and thinking about it was starting to give her a headache.

Someone sat down and offered her a cup of caf, chuckling. "I wouldn't worry about them. Things were just left... unsettled."

Mara took the cup from Wedge with a nod. "Thank you."

"Anytime."


	64. Week Sixteen, UDC 1 - Fixing A Mistake

A/N: No one asked me to do what I did here, but... Luke can't just stay cursed, now can he? No. No, he really, really can't.

* * *

**Week 16** (10.21.06) (UDC 1) - Fixing Merkye's rather glaring mistake...

* * *

76. **happy**

* * *

It was just after day break on Yavin 4 and Luke was enjoying the sunrise when someone laid a hand on his shoulder and he jumped, startled. Turning, he found a brunette with purple eyes standing there. "Oh. Hello."

She cocked her head to the side, and then splashed him without warning. "There. Fixed now." When Luke just blinked dumbly at her, she smiled. "Sorry for getting you wet, sir, but... let's just say that someone pulled a prank and you got the dubious unwelcome side effect. All magic has a price, and Merkye forgot that."

* * *

77. **gloomy**

* * *

Luke wasn't sure what to say, other than the obvious. "Who is... whatever name that was that you just said?"

"You don't need to know." She turned to go, but turned back to him. "And please don't fall into any more ponds, okay? One, you could get hurt, and two, I don't want to have to come here again. Not that you aren't cute, Master Skywalker, but..."

"Who are you?"

The girl held out her hand. "My name is Rose Vernen. I'm a Time Guardian. I just corrected your little problem."

Unsure of what else to do, Luke shook her hand.

* * *

78. **stressed**

* * *

It was in the darkness of the cave system that something suddenly became apparent... he was going to have a problem. Mara knew it, too, and so she volunteered to be the one to do it.

Now she was in his arms, they were both soaking wet, and he shakily said the words to rouse her.

Blinking, Mara opened her eyes and looked up at him. Then she frowned. "Wait."

"What?"

"You... you're you!"

Not really understanding, Luke just stared at her. When she poked at his chest, he got it. So that's what that woman had meant!

* * *

79. **content**

* * *

The only thing that stopped them from more cuddle time was Artoo signaling that they were about to drop out of hyperspace. Mara pouted when they had to stop kissing so he could adjust the instruments, but was glad that one of them had their minds on flying. "I'm so glad we didn't have to find you some hot water, Farmboy."

Luke chuckled. "Would have been hard, yes."

"Artoo doesn't carry that flask anymore?"

"Oh, he does, but... heating mechanism got a little... charred, as it were. The firecreepers, remember?"

Mara nodded and glanced out at the stars. "Yes." The creepy-crawly insects hadn't been at all kind.

* * *

80. **cranky**

* * *

"I was wondering," Mara said after they'd gotten the information to the right place.

"Oh?"

"How exactly did you get through your training on a swamp-planet? You know, with..."

Luke chuckled again. "With gritted teeth and a cranky, three foot tall Jedi Master. He seemed to find it amusing... wouldn't let me stop to fix it because it'd just happen again anyway."

Mara nodded and nestled deeper into his arms. That made total sense, in a way. "I was wondering why you never made a big deal of it."

"There was something to make a big deal about?"


	65. Week Sixteen, UDC 2

**Week 16** (1.21.08) - UDC 2

* * *

76. **Lightsaber**

* * *

She found him in his quarters, staring at his lightsaber hilt. Studying him, she didn?t have to wonder what was on his mind. Rather, she knew. Carefully, she approached and joined him on the bed. "I heard."

"It's my fault," he told her without looking up. "I didn't have Tenel Ka test it completely before using it. Am I a bad teacher, Mara?"

Wordlessly, Mara plucked the hilt out of his hands, set it aside on the floor, and took him into an embrace. Words could wait until later? much, much later.

* * *

77.** Blaster**

* * *

Jaina had seen the weapon many times. It was usually in a holster on her father's hip. Now it was laying on the table without an owner. Slowly, she reached out and hefted it with one hand. It was heavier than she?d thought it be. Laying it down again, Jaina wondered? would he want her to carry it?

Later, Jag didn't ask why his wife had taken to wearing a very familiar blaster at all times. Some things? just didn?t need to be asked. If she wanted to carry it, then he wasn't going to say a word.

* * *

78. **Vibroblade**

* * *

He had no warning. That was his first and last thought. He'd had no warning, and he'd forgotten about the vibroblade she kept hidden in her boot. The one she?d lashed out at him with.

Standing over him was his aunt, and as his eyes slid closed, Jacen tried to form words. What would he have said? He didn't know. But anything was better than dying this way, right?

Turning away to go back to her ship, Mara could have sworn she heard a whisper: _Save me._

* * *

79. **Bowcaster**

* * *

There was nothing left, save for a weapon. A spare bowcaster, hidden in a supply closet on the Falcon. It gave Han pause when he found it, trying to put himself back together. Here was a reminder of the missing. The dead.

He picked it up and studied the weapon, trying for a moment to make sense of his feelings. Nothing made sense now. Not really. Would it ever make sense again?

Putting the bowcaster back into the supply closet, Han shook his head. He didn't think it would...

* * *

80. **Thermal Detonator**

* * *

It was the first time she,d been back to Yavin 4 since the beginning of the Yuzhan Vong invasion, and they'd left in a hurry. Standing inside what had been her rooms in the Great Temple, Tarma just stared at how thrashed everything was. As in someone had set off a thermal detonator.

Bending down, she picked up a piece of debris and had to stop. There, laying unnaturally still, was her pet. The one she?d left behind. She carefully picked up the turtle?s remains. "Oscar?"

Reminded of everything they'd lost along the way, Tarma could only stand there.

* * *

_Special Note: No turtles were harmed in the making of this drabble set._


	66. Week Sixteen, UDC 3 - Garfield Parody

**Week 16** - 12/29/08 -UDC 3 - Feed your captain. Especially if he's Garfield.

* * *

76.** Bridge**

* * *

It was his first day on the new ship, and John Buckle was eager to get right to work. Trouble was, his captain didn't so much talk as glare at a person until they went away. So as he took his position at his station, he glanced back at the small, diminutive form of the captain in the captain?s chair. Who was glaring at him.

Without warning, the captain bounded out of the chair and straight into his lap, and John heard in his mind very plainly: _"Feed me."_ John could only stare at his orange and black captain in surprise.

* * *

77. **Engine Room**

* * *

It was said that they should never go to the engine room, for it was inhabited by a ghost. The ghost wasn't really a ghost at all, but rather a timid, shy man named Lyman who didn't like to work with others. He was an engineer by trade and had kept the engines in top shape by being very, very on top of things.

Only the captain remembered seeing him in the seven years he'd been on the ship, and even then, he wasn't sure he had. Lyman hadn't taken the time to feed him. Ever.

* * *

78. **Sickbay**

* * *

Doctor Liz Wilson hadn't once seen the captain come to sickbay of his own will in her tenure on the ship. Usually, when she saw him, it was an emergency, and she shuddered to think of those. One too many times he?d woken up and clawed her. She still had scars from the last time, and that had been six months ago.

The ship's pilot, one Mr. Buckle, entered and she was immediately enraptured. She didn't need to ask where he?d gotten the claw marks from.

* * *

79. **Corridor**

* * *

In the corridor outside the brig was a guard named Odie. Now, Odie wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but he knew his duty. The captain never wanted the prisoner let out of the brig, something about them being annoying. The prisoner's name was Nermal, he was rather young, and... very talkative. Why the captain found that annoying, Odie didn't know, but if there was one thing he did know, it was that Nermal liked to play shadow puppets.

He'd found out about the shadow puppets when Nermal had tricked him into turning off the force field once.

* * *

80. **Shuttle Bay**

* * *

Irma showed up with sandwiches right as the shuttle was getting ready to leave. She'd had to sprint all the way there, climb through three access shafts, and crawl through a vent because the lifts were out. She didn't like it when the lifts were out and the captain called for sandwiches. It made life hectic.

The captain saw her from the door of the shuttle and she knew he'd be happy... for at least the next hour or so...


	67. Week Sixteen, UDC 3-B - Star Trek

A/N: ...so I wasn't able to do SW for this one. Trek!**  
**

* * *

**Week 16** - 12/29/08 - UDC 3 - Star Trek

* * *

76. **Bridge**

* * *

It was her first time on a star ship like this and she could only stare around in wonder at all the new things as she let her love hold her in a firm embrace. These people, they weren't so different from her own. Not really.

Kes wanted to ask questions, to find out how things worked, but the reassuring pressure on her waist forestalled that urge. Neelix was right... there would be a better time, no matter how impatient she was. They had time... time enough for learning.

* * *

77. **Engine Room**

* * *

Dear Isabella,

Commander LaForge let me help him change out the Dylithium crystals! He didn't seem too enthused about it when he was leading me through how to do it, though. Apparently, one of the times it needed to be changed out a crew member was killed by an ambulatory oil slick. I'm not sure if he was serious or not, but on this ship, who knows?

Note to self: never change those things out during a crisis or while the captain or first officer are on an away mission. Bad things could happen, like crashing on a planet with an ambulatory oil slick. Eeep!

Clara

* * *

78. **Sickbay**

* * *

She was still staring at the death certificates when the persons in question walked into sickbay. It wasn't often that these things could be taken back, but as Beverly stared at LaForge and Ensign Ro, she was at once grateful and confused.

Standing up, she led them to two biobeds and began asking questions. This was one report that couldn't wait, and two people she was glad to see? even if one of them seemed very put upon by the medical procedures of declaring someone alive. She was definitely going to be asking Ensign Ro about that later.

* * *

79. **Corridor**

* * *

"Imzadi," he mumbled into her ear as they leaned against a wall in a corridor.

"Will," Deanna breathed. "We're in a corridor."

"So?" He pecked her on the nose, smiling. "I wanted a moment with you, and you have been going out of your way to avoid me."

"We have both been busy." She stared at him, trying to read him but getting distracted. "And shouldn't we be headed to the shuttle?"

"It can wait for us."

"Will!"

"What?"

She wanted to roll her eyes, but settled for kissing him back.

* * *

80. **Shuttle Bay**

* * *

Data had checked and re-checked the shuttle five different times as he waited for Commander Riker and Counselor Troi to make their way to the shuttle bay. He'd have gotten impatient, but that wasn't in his programming.

Just as Data was about to start a sixth status check on the shuttle and maybe run an unneeded diagnostic, the doors opened and the two joined him. He watched them in curiosity, wondering why the commander was smirking and the counselor was, he couldn't quite put a term to it, but... maybe... 'satisfied?' It was most confusing.


	68. Week Seventeen, UDC 4 - Luke and Mara

**Week 17** - 7/27/09 - UDC 4

* * *

81. **Yearning**

* * *

It was simple: she wanted him. Wanted him, right now, in front of her. But things weren't that simple and he wasn't here. It had been that way for months. Far, far too long.

She sat back and let her mind wander, and for an instant, it felt like his arms were around her, and that he was whispering in her ear things that they didn?t dare say in public. And just in that moment, for Mara Jade, it didn't matter that he wasn't there. In a way? he was.

* * *

82. **Jealousy**

* * *

An image assailed her from afar and Mara had to duck her head to keep Karrde from seeing the frustration that surely flashed through her eyes. He needed help, he needed a direction, why did he go to someone else?

Talon Karrde cleared his throat and the frustration of a simple jealous reaction was pushed away for the time being.

Later, when she saw him, only the still digesting Ysalamir in the big white thing's stomach saved her from having to explain anything.

* * *

83. **Possession**

* * *

"Mine."

"Oh?"

She inched closer to him. "Yes. Mine."

"And what makes me yours?"

"I have to explain?"

Luke smiled at her. "Not always... but just right now? Yes."

Her answer was sensations, emotions which had been bottled up and ignored for far, far too long, and she could find only one word to express everything she felt: mine. It echoed between them without end as she showed him just what she meant, because out loud it wouldn't have made sense.

_Mine. Mine. Mine. Mine. Mine? Mine._

Luke never needed to ask her again.

* * *

84. **Addiction**

* * *

In his quarters on Yavin 4, away from the prying eyes of his students, Luke allowed himself to relax and reach out to find her. He needed to feel her, just for a moment, and he knew it wouldn't last long, but... he wanted it. Wanted her.

Far away, Mara felt a tingle and frowned as the tingle turned into a beacon call. Then she smiled and answered him. _Got away from your students for a moment, hmmm?_

_Only just._

Mara's laugh resounded across the distance, at once comforting and filling that empty spot. _Miss you, too, Luke. Miss you, too._

* * *

85. **Wanting**

* * *

It had been a week solid and still nothing. Not a word or a peep or even a searching tendril in her direction. She almost commed the academy on Yavin 4 to ask what was going on, but stopped herself just in time to avoid anything overly embarrassing. It shouldn't have been odd that he didn't reach out when his attention was focused elsewhere... should it?

Frustrated, Mara stood up and went to find a comm station. Even if it wasn?t supposed to be out of the ordinary, he was still recovering from whatever happened out on Byss. Anything was possible... right?


	69. Week Seventeen - UDC 1

**Week 17**: (10.27.06) - UDC 1 - That sinking feeling Yoda has...

* * *

81. **nothing**

* * *

Nothing Obi-Wan said made it better. He was on the council, but he wasn't a master... was it because he wasn't good enough, or because Palpatine had commanded it? Should it have mattered either way? Anakin didn't think so.

And then there was the request. They were asking him to spy on a trusted friend. A friend who had stayed, as Obi-Wan had pointed out, in power beyond term limits. As he stood, staring out the windows of the temple? Anakin Skywalker didn't know what to think or how to resolve the situation in his mind. Nothing was going to make this better...

* * *

82. **everything**

* * *

There was very little the small Jedi Master could do all the way from Kashyyk, as he watched and listened to the council meeting remotely. Something was happening? both big and small. At the moment, he was glad that the Chancellor had made a request for Knight Skywalker to be on the council, as it gave him an opportunity to study the young man. Yes, something was definitely happening. And whatever it was, Yoda had the feeling that he wasn't going to understand completely until it began to rain down on their heads.

For now, all he could do was sit. And listen. And watch.

* * *

83. **now**

* * *

In her penthouse apartment, Senator Padme Amidala can?t help but watch as smoke rises from the tower she?s looked out at every day. It had been hours and still no word from him? was he alive, did he know she was worried?

Night fell and finally he appeared, seeming very haggard and babbling about an uprising. The Jedi, turning against the Republic? That made no sense. And what about the children who had been inside? As she looked into his shadowy eyes, she made a decision: no asking him what had happened inside.

* * *

84. **forever**

* * *

Palpatine studied the exterior of the suit with pride and curiosity. Pride that they'd been able to save the young man, and curiosity about how much of him had indeed been saved. If there was anyone in there to save in the first place, or if it had been too long that he?d lain there in the dirt on the banks of a river of lava.

There really was only one way to know, and that was to ask him. To question. And so, he did. The answers he got in return were pleasing, the man inside was his. Forever.

* * *

85. **fate**

* * *

The sandy wastes of the desert planet reminded him of the heat on Mustafar. Reminded him of the brother lost there? and the woman in what should have been the best moment of her young life to date. Nothing was as it should have been. Nothing.

As Obi-Wan stared out the door of his hutch and into the early morning brightness, he wondered how things were out there. Wondered if he?d done the right thing by hiding and watching over the boy from afar. Maybe he had?


	70. Week Seventeen, UDC 2

**Week 17** (1.28.08) - UDC 2

* * *

81. **Black**

* * *

They were, naturally, stuck on guard duty outside the building as back up. "You could at least have argued with me about it."

Iron Wave turned to her. "What point would that have served, Rala?"

"Discussion. It's what married people do, Whuki."

"We did discuss it, and I agreed with you. Besides, you made your decision before you ever brought it up to me."

"No I didn?t. That was the point of talking about it."

"Right?"

Black Wave stared at the building. "You know... if we weren't in armor right now and the situation wasn't what it is, I'd be kissing you."

Iron Wave's only response was a chuckle.

* * *

82. **Blond**

* * *

Alone with him finally, Mara could only stare at his slack face as he slept the sleep of the unconscious. Right here, and right now? suddenly she wanted him to wake up and just babble away. Surprised at her own wants, Mara reached out and swept a lock of dark blond hair away from his forehead.

Then she leaned in and kissed him on the forehead. _Get well quick, Luke._

For a moment as she pulled away, Mara thought she saw the beginnings of an expression. It was enough to put her at ease. For now.

* * *

83. **Red**

* * *

The color burned him just looking at it, into the fire which a part of him lay, slowly being consumed in a timeless end of life ritual. He had failed his master, getting stuck behind a force field and left only to watch as a being with a cruel black and red face drove a red blade of light through his chest. In the seconds that it had taken for the fields to cycle again, anger and grief had threatened to consume him.

Now, as the fire burned, Obi-Wan, new Jedi Knight of the Jedi Order, wanted nothing. Nothing but for the fire to be put out.

* * *

84. **Brown**

* * *

Vader couldn't really see it, not with his helmet on, but he knew the robe left behind was brown. Knew it without a doubt. He couldn't help but wonder, puzzled, why the body had disappeared. It made no sense. None at all. Bodies weren't supposed to just vanish and leave nothing but clothing behind.

Alone in his quarters, Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith and apprentice to Darth Sidious, was left to ponder his former master's robe and the incredible lack of sense it made.

* * *

85. **Bald**

* * *

_The meadow was bleak, desolate as he looked around, wondering what happened to the vegetation. Almost as if the land had been scorched bald. It was bald? bald and naked. Dead. _

With a gasping breath, the man awoke from the dream, confused and anxious. He?d been in that meadow once before, had seen the grasses green and flowers colorful. Animals had roamed about. To see it all... lifeless.

Alone in his bunk on a troopship, Anakin Skywalker can do nothing but shudder. It hit far, far too close to home.


	71. Week Seventeen, UDC 3 - Riana and Solen

A/N: Song For Tie the knot is Unchained Melody.**  
**

* * *

**Week 17** - 1/5/09 - UDC 3 - Riana Skywalker and Solen Varre

* * *

81. **Head Over Heels**

* * *

Solen was putting the finishing touches on his report in the academy library when a young woman caught his attention from across the room. He didn?t remember ever seeing her before, but she was beautiful. Her strawberry blonde hair shone in the lights and? then she noticed him watching and frowned at him. He looked away, immediately embarrassed at having been caught staring.

Someone sat down in the chair next to him and he looked to find her smiling back at him. "Hi."

Solen blinked. "Hello?"

"You don?t have to be embarrassed."

"I... don't"

"No." She held out a hand. "Riana."

He shook it. "Solen Varre."

* * *

82. **Under the Weather**

* * *

The first thing to hit her upon waking was the nausea. Laying there, Riana didn't even want to acknowledge it, or what it might mean. Could it? No. That was impossible. Right?

Carefully, slowly to not make herself even more disoriented, Riana got out of bed. It might have been impossible, and it was possible she also had the flu, but the timing wasn't right and she hadn't felt ill the night before. Just in the morning.

Focusing inward, she answered her own question... and was now even more nauseated. "Not the flu, then."

She rushed to the 'fresher.

* * *

83. **Tooth and Nail**

* * *

He couldn't help but stare at her. "You're..."

"Yes." Riana considered him, this young man she'd first noticed when he was working on some kind of report in the academy library. She hadn't told him who she was right off, nor had he asked. "It's something of a shock, isn't it"

Solen nodded. "I didn't even consider that you might be a Skywalker."

She looked away from him. "I understand if you don't ever want to talk to me again, Solen."

"Oh, no." He took her hand. "That's not what I want. I want to be with you."

"Even though..."

"Even though."

* * *

84. **Tie the Knot**

* * *

It was hours since the conclusion of the semi-public ceremony and Solen still had trouble believing it was over and done. Only the ring on his finger and the beautiful woman in his arms convinced him it was. They glided across the dance floor to a song neither had ever heard before, sung by two friends of her parents from law enforcement.

Riana, radiant and smiling, didn't want the moment to end. Didn't want the evening to end. It had been wonderful, taking this man as her husband and sharing a kiss that had turned into a conversation all their own.

It was their first dance.

* * *

85. **Bite Your Tongue**

* * *

At first sight, Solen wanted to cringe. Their son was a tiny, crying, red little thing... ugly and wonderful and theirs. He knew not to voice his thoughts, for his wife hadn't been relieved of her weapons upon arrival and he'd be in for far more than sleeping on the couch if he did.

And then the infant was in his arms and all thoughts of ugliness vanished. His son was not ugly. He was beautiful. Solen looked up at Riana to find her tiredly watching him, smiling. "I love you."

Riana's only response was an even bigger smile.


	72. Week 18, UDC 1 - The New Rebellion

**Week 18**: (11.03.06) - UDC 1 - moments from The New Rebellion (EU)

* * *

86. **eyes**

* * *

His eyes saw everything in the senate hall as his attention strayed from person to person. The droids were attending to various senators on the floor, and nothing was amiss... even though he was practically shivering with an erie feeling that there was. A chime sounded and he looked to see the Chief of State step onto the dias to begin her speech.

An instant later, something struck the hall, and the guard knew no more. He never got the chance to find out that the odd sensation spooking him was the droids about to be set off by remote.

* * *

87. **nose**

* * *

The creature sniffed at the small dirty thing laying in it's bedding. Hours had passed since it had been in his mouth, and since then the small... man? The man had needed a rest, or so his pictures had said. What a strange way to sleep, his face all scrunched up and curled into a ball.

Sniffing again, the creature sat down on it's haunches. It could wait. And guard. The... was it a man? Whatever... he was nice, and once the creature had stopped trying to eat him, had attended to the thing lodged in it's paw.

* * *

88. **ears**

* * *

She heard the tell-tale sounds of a ship landing and immediately went to get her gear. Whoever it was probably wouldn't be prepared to deal with the local wildlife, especially if they were making the mistake of landing away from a specified landing area.

Looking outside, she winced as she saw the ever-present mist begin to solidify. Of all the stupid, dumb things to do... Sighing, the woman set out in her protective gear to find the person before it was too late to do any good. If it wasn't already, that is...

* * *

89. **throat**

* * *

Breath burned in his throat as he treaded water, knowing he was dead if no one came to help him. He knew Nandreeson wouldn't listen to reason, and he knew the other Glottlphibs wouldn't either. Too much history.

Glancing up, Lando almost let himself sink... there were Watumba bats up there. It didn't help him without a weapon, but the thought was amusing. Glottlphibs hated those bats... unless they were a meal. With a burst of amusement, Lando found his second wind. For all the good it did him... He was going to die here. He knew that.

* * *

90. **skin**

* * *

Mara wasn't sure what to say as the three of them sat in the lounge on the Falcon, studiously avoiding each other. Ignoring them was easier with the Ysalamir inside what she considered to be Luke's big white pet, but... "What happened to you?"

Luke glanced at her as Leia handed him some bacta patches. "Which time?"

Mara paused, taking in how haggard he looked as he applied one of the patches to his leg with a grimace. "This week."

"Got attacked by a blob on Msst, my X-Wing blown out from under me, and nearly eaten by the Thernbee."

"Ah... Attacked by a blob?"


	73. Week 18, UDC 2 - Planets

**Week 18** (2.3.08) - UDC 2

* * *

86. **Coruscant**

* * *

The vehicle was nothing but a hulk in the depths of the city-planet. Nothing but scrap metal and rusting innards disregarded as unimportant and forgotten a long time ago. He didn't know how long it had been there when they stumbled upon it, and it didn't matter. Zekk glanced at Jaina, she grinned back, and they went to work, extracting what could still be used from the wreckage.

When they were finished, he squeezed her greasy hand. "Thank you."

"Just like old times?"

"Yes. Just like old times."

As they left, both carrying what they could, silence ensued. Down here, silence was often key to surviving.

* * *

87. **Corellia**

* * *

The black creature walked along a street with it's tail held high, confident that no one would dare mess with her. It hadn't been an easy day and she had yet to sheath her claws? somewhere there was food. She could smell it. She wanted it.

Following her nose, she spotted a woman carrying a bag that looked enticing. Hmmm... this would bare investigating. Maybe the bag had some tasty meat inside. She slunk into the shadows of buildings, waiting for her moment.

* * *

88. **Kashyyyk**

* * *

Dreams of home haunted him every night. Dreams of the life he wanted, of the family left there... that he barely saw because he had a duty and a purpose and wasn't going to forsake it. In the darkness of a cabin on the Millenium Falcon, Chewbacca awoke to the sound of the engines and chose to lay there and listen.

He wanted Malla, and his son, and he wanted them right now. It was moments like this, in the darkness of the night cycle, that he had to remind himself why he was where he was. A duty... and a person. Honor.

* * *

89. **Korriban**

* * *

She'd seen so much during her time in Palpatine's service that sometimes she forgot that there were worse things. Far, far worse things than Palpatine? Staring up at a monument in the Valley of the Sith Lords on Korriban, Mara couldn?t help but feel chills. Just being here felt... wrong. Very wrong.

She wanted to turn and walk very fast back to her ship, leave, and never come back, but that was the point of coming in the first place: to embrace something. To accept it. To move on. Even if she?d moved on long ago, it was still something she had to do.

* * *

90. **Tatooine**

* * *

On the last morning of his life, Owen Lars does not know it is his last and is not thinking of that. Instead, he's wondering where his erstwhile nephew is. He hopes Luke is out on the south ridge, repairing the vaporators, but his wife gives him the impression that that isn't the case.

On the last morning of the life of Owen Lars, it's nothing special. Just an average, run of the mill day... right up to the point when men in white armor wearing helmets that are out of place in a desert invade his home.


	74. Week 18, UDC 3 - Melyan Family

**Week 18** - 1/12/09 - UDC 3 - Melyan Family (Corellian Jedi Order)

* * *

86. **Youngling**

* * *

It is with a sense of joy mixed with dread that they welcome a new life into the universe. Joy to see this little one, and dread that he will never know the heritage he has been born into that now can not be taught for fear of being discovered, even here, far from Coruscant and new policies.

As they sit on the bed, watching their son together, Fosco leans closer to her. "Fear is of the Dark Side, Love. Remember?"

The reminder does little to ease her mind, but Moira nods thankfully. It wasn't much, but it was enough.

* * *

87. **Initiate**

* * *

She doesn't like him, this... male person ten years her senior that she'd been apprenticed to. They have nothing in common, and if it hadn't been for her mother demanding it be so, would never have agreed to it in the first place. She didn't even want to continue training, let alone with someone so... insulting.

He catches her glaring at him once and shakes his head in silence. Unless he has something to say, they don't speak. It is an arrangement that is slowing starting to wear thin on her nerves.

* * *

88. **Padawan**

* * *

She's... reluctant, this Padawan he'd been drawn to, to train. Her skills progress slowly, more slowly than an initiate or a youngling. It's frustrating, but according to her file, she's always been a slow learner. Even more so when she wasn't interested.

Staring down at the file in his hands, he gets an idea. What if there was incentive?

Hours later, Moira was trying to cajole him out of untying her without success.

Hours after that, she left him tied to the chair, glared at him once, and walked off, seething.

As Focso unknotted the ropes with the Force, he laughed.

* * *

89. **Knight**

* * *

It is the first day of her new life as a Jedi and she does the one thing she has wanted to do for five years: get rid of her braid at last. She looks at it for a long, long moment, taking in everything she'd learned while wearing it. It seemed so... insignificant, this lock of hair. And yet it meant so much... she had been through so much.

A hand on her shoulder, and she turned to find her former Master, now her comrade and confidant, standing there. Without a word, she handed it to him.

* * *

90. **Master**

* * *

Fosco stared down at the braid, knowing full well that she didn't want it back. If he'd never listened to the Force, if she hadn't aquiesed and allowed the match up, they wouldn't be standing here right now together. He knew that, but... it was a lot to think about.

She cleared her throat and Fosco blinked up at her. "What?"

"Come on. There's a briefing we're missing."

He nodded. "Think we're missing much?"

"Nah. Just the gossip portion of the meeting."

He chuckled and followed her. And just like that, the moment was over.


	75. Week 19, UDC 4

**Week 19** - 8/10/09 - (UDC 4)

* * *

91. **Forever**

* * *

It was a long time before she got to go anywhere unsupervised, and it felt like forever. Really, it wasn't that long, but patience hadn't ever been her strong suit... until the day when something hard struck her spectral shin. "Ow!"Turning, she glared at the small, wizened Jedi Master. "What was that for?"

"Like your father, you are. No patience."

Somehow, from the way he was glaring back at her, Neesta got the impression she was in for a world of uncomfortableness. "I just..." Speaking out of turn earned her another rap to the shin.

* * *

92. **Always**

* * *

"Momma?"

Mara turned to find Neesta standing there, a pensive expression on her face. Not wasting any time, Mara got to her knees and beckoned the child closer. "Come here."

"Are you still mad?"

Mara shook her head. "Of course not. I was just... upset."

"I'm sorry."

Mara shook her head. "It's not you that always has to be sorry, child. What you did wasn't wrong, exactly."

"It wasn't?"

"No. You did help. That part is important." Mara leaned in closer, smiling. "And I'm glad you did."

"Really?"

"Really."

* * *

93. **Never**

* * *

"This is never going to work," Neesta muttered as she watched the twins assemble some kind of mechanical thing out of scavenged parts. She didn't even know what most of the things did, and she still knew it wasn't going to work.

Anakin smiled vaguely in her direction. "That's half the fun."

Neesta blinked at him. There was something devious in his expression. Maybe it not working was the point, after all. "Huh... if you say so."

She got her answer a minute later when her aunt walked in on the mess in progress.

* * *

94. **Maybe**

* * *

Cade wasn't quite sure what to say once the girl had agreed to stay and chat. He had lots of questions. He glanced at her, noticed she was smirking at him. "Are you always this annoying?"

"That depends... certainly was an icebreaker, wasn't it?"

"I guess." He paused, studying her some more. "You ever going to tell me your name?"

She continued to smirk. "Maybe. Depends on if you'll be wanting to use it as a curse in my presence or not."

First his great grandfather gives him a 'you can be more' speech, and now this one, also possibly a member of his family, wanted to tease him. Strangely, he was starting to like it.

* * *

95. **Eternity**

* * *

Arms enveloped her and Mara opened her eyes to find herself staring at someone she'd never touched before. "Is this real?"

"As real as you want it to be," came the hesitant response.

Mara continued to stare at her daughter, unsure of what to think. "You're sure?"

Neesta smiled. "We have an eternity to make certain?"

Mara pushed out of the embrace and really looked at her. "You're not... glowing."

Neesta just shook her head. Of all the things to notice or do, and the first thing her mother notices is the lack of translucency? Only her family...


	76. Week 19, UDC 2

**Week 19** (2.10.08) - UDC 2

* * *

91. **Heat**

* * *

The heat of the flame was barely a thought, an annoyance to be avoided as he stood on the platform and watched the ship land. What did it matter, the warm of this place surrounded by rivers of lava? It was just one more warm place. It... almost reminded him of home. Of Tatooine. Thinking of a home left behind so many years ago brings with it images... a kind face. Words spoken in desperate relief. Pain. Loss... "Mom."

With an angry shake of his head, Darth Vader, Lord of the Sith, banishes those thoughts away. But not before wondering what she would have thought to see him here, now in this place, surrounded by the dead of the Trade Federation. Dead at his hand...

* * *

92. **Cold**

* * *

She was shivering in her sleep when he checked on her after the rescue. Frowning, Luke picked up a blanket and laid it over her carefully. A few minutes went by as he sat and watched, and then the shivering subsided. Nodding in satisfaction, he moved to stand up, but a hand suddenly grabbed him, holding him in place. His gaze met hers, and she almost cracked a sleepy smile. "Thanks."

Luke fought not to return that almost-a-smile, and settled for nodding in response. "You're welcome." She was asleep again moments later, and niether one noticed Talon Karrde watching them from the entryway of the cargo hold with undisguised amusement.

* * *

93. **Rain**

* * *

"How do you stand it here?" Mara mumbled as she trudged through the down pour after him. "It's so... wet!"

Luke's stride didn't falter as he replied: "I like the rain, Mara." That answer didn't satisfy her, but it was the most he'd said for miles. Something in the way he said it spoke of memory, but she didn't really know him well enough to put the pieces together and figure out what it was. "It... renews."

As they paused for a breather, wet as could be, she at last got a good look at his face... and froze. Something was wrong, and it wasn't the rain. "Luke?"

"What?"

"Tell me sometime?"

* * *

94. **Sunshine**

* * *

Jaina stepped into the Hapan sunlight and immediately had to close her eyes against the brightness. She'd been inside a ship, tinkering for so long that now, standing here in ordinary sunlight was difficult. She wanted to turn around and go back to the maintence bay and tinker some more, but the hand at her back was insistent. The presense that belonged to it even more so. She took another step and faltered again. The warmth on her skin helt good, even if the light did not.

The hand momentarily left her back and suddenly something was in her hand. She squinted down at what was in her hand, and took a moment to realize what they were. Sunglasses. Putting them on, she turned and looked at Kyp. "Thank you."

* * *

95. **Clouds**

* * *

"What's that one?"

"A moose."

"And that one?"

"Hydrospanner inside an engine block."

"And that?"

"Lizard."

Pause, then a pout. "Looks more like a snake to me."

"Or an eel."

"Right... and you said the first one was a moose. What's a Moose? For that matter, what's an eel?"

A chuckle. "You're the one who wanted to play cloud picture-association to see what would come out, Drev. Animals. And it DOES look like a moose." Another pause. "And that one kinda looks like a sailing ship."

Drev smiled. That was exactly what he'd wanted to hear, even if he had no idea what she really meant. It was a nice way to pass the afternoon.


	77. Week 19, UDC 3 - Mara and Lando

**Week 19** - 1/19/09 - UDC 3 - Mara and Lando

* * *

91. **Peace**

* * *

It was in the small hours, alone with her newborn that things made sense finally. For months, nothing made sense. Not finding and protecting this man about whom she'd grown to care for so deeply, not impending motherhood, or their marriage. Being so far away from Imperial Center had helped to ease things... to make it easier to ignore the summons and block HIM out. It wouldn't last for long, this peace. Such things seldom did. But in the early morning hours when it was just her and this baby girl she'd borne, it was easy to believe that there was peace in the galaxy.

And so, as the minutes ticked by unnoticed, Mara Jade Calrissian spent time admiring her daughter.

* * *

92. **Tension**

* * *

Something was wrong. It wasn't in what he'd said when he had entered the suite, nor what he had done. No, this was something reflected only in his eyes. She didn't need to ask him to know he was worried about something. "Tell me?"

Lando took a deep breath as he took in the sight of her feeding their daughter. "How soon can you leave?"

She frowned. "What?" At his expectant silence, she decided not to question further. "Just give the word, and we'll be off Bespin."

He hesitated, then took her in an embrace. "Then go. As soon as possible."

She didn't question him, and left that afternoon.

* * *

93. **Misunderstanding**

* * *

Ptarmaia didn't understand why Daddy hadn't come with them, or why her Mommy seemed so worried. "Dada?"

Mommy startled, turned away from the flat thing she'd been poking at, and blinked at her. "What did you say?"

"Dada!"

Her Mommy stared at her for way too long, and Ptarmaia began to cry. An instant later, Mommy was holding her, soothing her. "Shh, Ptarmaia. Shhh. We'll see him again. Promise."

"Dada?"

"Yes. Your daddy."

As her tears slowed, a hopeful smile formed. "Soon?"

"I hope so, Ptarmaia. I hope so."

* * *

94. **Disagreement**

* * *

She met up with him in the middle of a Rebel Alliance convoy of all things. What was he doing with the Rebel Alliance? Wasn't he a non-combatant gambler administrator? It didn't make any sense. She didn't know, nor did she have time to ask. She just crumpled into his embrace, happy to see him alive, kissed him once, and deposited their daughter into his care. "Don't ask where I'm going, too much to tell you, and I can't take her with me."

Lando was left staring after her as she quickly departed after hugging Ptarmaia once and promising she'd be back. "Can't take her along?"

"Mama?"

Lando blinked down at his child, wondering where his wife was going... and why now? "Come on, little one. Let's get you something to eat, hmm?"

"Want Mama."

So did he.

* * *

95. **War**

* * *

He saw her first, dancing in an entrancing outfit in front of the Hutt crime lord, and wondered if this was what she'd not been able to talk about when she'd left their daughter in his care. She'd... come all the way to Tatooine to get a job as a dancer?

Stealthily, he made his way back to where the dancing girls got ready and just watched her for a long minute. Something was wrong. Very wrong. Finally, she was alone and he approached. "You shouldn't be here."

Mara blinked up at him, surprised. "You shouldn't either. Why are you?"

"Rescue operation. You?"

"Nothing so noble as that."

"War?"

"Yes."

He peered at her. "Do you want to do what you're here for?"

She didn't have an answer for him.


	78. Week Twenty, UDC 1

**Week 20**: (11.20.06) - UDC 1

* * *

96. **a light in the dark**

* * *

The blurriness was better than the darkness of the cell, he thought as the skiff flew through what he knew was endless desert. At least the kid and Chewie and Lando were here, and he wasn't stuck in that block any more. The thought of being in that Carbonite block made him shudder... one big long stretch of nothingness. Of not being able move. An endless nightmare.

"Hey," Luke said suddenly and Han looked in his direction, happy to see even his blurry form under these circumstances. "It's over now, Han."

Right. Over. "We're still going to die, Kid."

Luke's sudden, rueful chuckle didn't sooth his nerves any.

* * *

97. **steer by the stars**

* * *

He found her standing on a chair, sticking little black pieces of paper to the ceiling. Frowning, he traced the pattern of the dots. One seemed to outline a big spoon, and another could possibly have been a hunter with a primitive hunting tool. "Should I ask?"

"Just needed a visual aid."

Nodding, he backed out of the room slowly and went to see if there was other housework to do. Asking her what she needed a visual aid for when she had THAT expression on her face could lead to a couple things, one of 'em dangerous, and right now... it was better not to ask.

* * *

98. **shake the heavens**

* * *

He glanced down at their small copilot to find her nearly in tears, and frowned before telling Nien Numb to take the controls. He pulled Ptarmaia into his lap. "What is it?"

She didn't answer him at first. No... couldn't was a better word. "Bad man. Back there. On that... big round thing."

"He's gone now," Lando tried to reason with her, but when she shook her head slowly he began to suspect she meant something else. "And?"

She looked at him, and he saw the confusion. "Mama."

"What about her?" At Ptarmaia's ensuing silence, Lando began to worry all over again. He knew his wife had gone somewhere after Tatooine. But where?

* * *

99. **beneath these hands**

* * *

For a never-ending space, she knew nothing. Nothing but sensation and flashes that could not be interpreted. An image of a hand formed and dissapeared again into the ether of unconsciousness. If she'd been aware, words would have been enough to draw attention, but the weight held her down in a sea of black cotton. When it did finally lift, she found a welcome, familiar face at her bedside. Words still wouldn't come, but finally she didn't need them. Not here, and not now.

Later, there would be questions. She knew that, and was planning on asking some of her own. Like how he'd found her. "La..?"

"Shhh. It can wait, Mara. It can wait."

It was enough.

* * *

100. **the path and the walker**

* * *

The path had over grown since he'd last been to this place, this planet where victory was finally in sight. Overgrown, but he managed to find the clearing again. Years of the natural elements had washed away what happened here that night, but in his mind's eye, Luke could still see the flames engulfing the black armor. He sat down in the center of the clearing and simply looked around for a long, long time. The clearing was simple... and an honorable final resting place for one who had died saving him. Died, in the end, saving everyone with his own final sacrifice. Did his father know, when he lifted Palpatine up and threw him down the shaft, that he was signing his own death certificate?

Luke didn't know.


	79. Week Twenty, UDC 2

**Week 20** (2.17.08) - UDC 2

* * *

96. **Destiny**

* * *

She stared up at her father, frowning. This wasn't right, being left with just him... she wanted her parents together! Together! She opened her mouth to say something, but another tall person, this one with lighter skin and lighter hair joined them in the passage way, speaking casually and smiling down at her in greeting. Except... the smile didn't seem to reach his eyes.

"Who is this little one?"

"Ptarmaia, this is Luke," her father told her. "Luke, this is my daughter, Ptarmaia."

Luke knelt down and held out his hand. "Hi there."

She glanced up at her father, questioning. When he nodded, she touched the man's hand. "Hi."

* * *

97. **Legacy**

* * *

Two days after waking up from the black sea, a presence woke her out of sleep that she'd know anywhere. Opening her eyes, Mara found her husband holding her daughter, who was smiling widely. She returned the smile and patted the bed, wordlessly asking them to join her. Lando set Ptarmaia down and the child instantly cuddled up to her, practically yelling in joy as she did so. "Mama!"

Lando, somewhat more restrained but not by much, was content to sit on the edge of the matress and watch the reunion. No words could express his relief right then, so he didn't try so speak.

* * *

98. **Hope**

* * *

The furry creatures were beating drums when she saw Luke stride into the village. He was met by her father's friends, and when she pulled at her father's pant leg to distract him from talking to the man in the orange suit, she pointed. "Back." Her father glanced down at her, then looked, and grinned.

"That he is, Ptarmaia. Wedge, could you...?"

"Sure."

She glanced up at the man in the orange suit as her father went to greet his friend. "Why orange?"

Wedge blinked down at her, clearly not having expected that question.

* * *

99. **Future**

* * *

"This will never work, you know."

Lando turned and looked at her. "What won't?"

"This... thing between us. It won't work."

"Are you trying to tell me we have no future?"

She sighed. "Not in so many words, but that is the general definition of 'not working', is it not?" At first he didn't answer, then he surprised her by taking her in his arms, dipping her back just so, and kissing her madly. When he was done, he let her go and walked away. Mara stared after him, a smile on her lips. Then again...

* * *

100. **Fate**

* * *

Mara found her daughter in her room, staring at her pet forlornly. "Ptarmaia?"

"Oscar..." She said as she motioned to the tank.

Mara went to the tank and looked in at the turtle, frowning when she felt nothing coming from it through the Force. Oh... They'd given her the turtle on her seventh birthday and they'd been practically inseparable ever since. And now... Sighing, Mara turned and went to sit beside her. Ptarmaia leaned into her, sniffling. "That's how life is sometimes."

"I know," Ptarmaia said slowly. "Still hurts."

They sat there for a long while.


	80. Week Twenty, UDC 3

**Week 20** - 1/26/09 - UDC 3

* * *

96. **Fate**

* * *

It was no simple thing, this information contained on a data disk. The more she stared at it, the more she wanted to track the people down who did the research and shake their hands... or something. Anything but sit here and study it so they could use it. She sighed. "It's too simple."

And yet, as she found out much later when a patient came down with a formerly incurable illness... simple had it's uses. Even the simple things could change fate. A Jedi student named Nichos Marr got a second chance at life without ever knowing the source.

* * *

97. **The Force**

* * *

He didn't meet her gaze or even acknowledge her presence when she returned to their bed. He just stared at the ceiling, wishing things were different.

"We have to talk about this eventually," she whispered. "Not tonight, not tomorrow even. But eventually we will."

Finally, he turned to her. "Why talk about it at all?"

"Because there are choices to be made."

"But not tonight," Lando murmurred as he carressed her cheek tenderly.

"No, love. Not tonight."

* * *

98. **Luck**

* * *

It was just luck that Ptarmaia was in the grand audience chamber sitting on the steps when Callista caught up to her after the girl had stormed out. Sitting down next to her, she tried to smile pleasantly. "Found you."

"I wasn't hiding," Ptarmaia told her haltingly, glaring at the woman as she stood up. "And stop following me. Please."

"I just wanted to talk, Tarma." Callista's eye's widened when Ptarmaia glared at her again. "What?"

"You don't get to call me that." And then she stomped down the stairs and out of the hall, leaving a very confused Callista Ming in her wake.

"What was that about?"

She never did recieve an answer.

* * *

99. **Credits**

* * *

Mara's first thought on answering the comm that morning wasn't about credits, but rather about what would make her daughter irritated enough to call home in the middle of the Yavin IV night. "Is everything all right?"

_"No. Can I come home early? Please?"_

Mara frowned at that phrasing. "Of course. But don't you want to finish..." At Ptarmaia's glare, she stopped. "Right. You wouldn't ask if you didn't mean it."

Later, Lando found a note: _"Gone to Yavin. Don't wait up. Love you."_ He nodded silently and proceeded to make dinner for one. He'd ask her when she returned about the sudden leave-taking.

* * *

100. **Love**

* * *

At Yavin IV, she was greeted by her daughter, who had a travel bag in one hand, and Luke, who was flanked by Callista Ming. Mara's eyebrows went up when she saw Ptarmaia glaring occasionally at Callista. "Oh. Ptarmaia? Why don't you let Luke watch your bag while we take a walk, hmmm?"

"I just want to go home," Ptarmaia told her through clenched teeth, but assented when Mara glared at her. "All right." So saying, she handed her bag to Luke.

Mara led her away from the couple. "So... truth?"

"I don't like that woman."

"Thought as much." She leaned a little closer. "I don't much care for her either, but he seems happier, doesn't he?"

Ptarmaia glanced back at them, and nodded slowly. "I guess."

"And it would make me happy if you tried a little harder."

"But mom!" At Mara's continued glare, she wilted. "I'll try. For you."

"I'm glad."


	81. Week Twenty, UDC 4

A/N: Back when we were told there was going to be author's choice, I ran across an inspiring pic manip. That pic manip had lyrics from a song that I mistook for an original poem, but which turned out to be from the song "A Step Too Far." I have never heard the song in question, but that pic manip (which I'd be linking to if the site were still up) stayed with me. The lyrics became the prompts. Enjoy.

* * *

**Week 20** - 8/17/09 - UDC 4 - Questions... (Author's Choice #2)

* * *

96. **I am certain that I love him?**

* * *

It was moments like this, tucked safely into an embrace and watching the skylane traffic, that she didn't question anything. It was perfect, he was perfect... and nothing else mattered. Not her loyalties, not his, not anything that could have intruded and made it more complicated. Just... touch and feelings and nothing else.

Leaning back and glancing at him, Mara smiled. He looked so innocent, so young. It was hard to believe in another life they would have never met, nor fallen in love. Was this love? It felt like it.

* * *

97. **But a love can be misplaced.**

* * *

It was difficult, this thing she had to say into the holo recorder. She didn't want to, but things were different. She was different, and no amount of convincing would make her believe that by touching the dark side, by experiencing it, she'd find her way through to the light. The Force didn't work that way. When she'd touched it on Admiral Dalaa's star destroyer, and felt him screaming at her to stop, she didn't listen, and ended up stunned and nearly getting herself killed.

Taking a deep breath, Callista began to speak. She loved him, but it wasn't enough to stay with him.

* * *

98. **I could be his life companion...**

* * *

She liked him, this man who had shown up on Sacorria to seek her hand in marriage. She liked him, but couldn't accept because the Triad had made a silly ruling. Sitting down at a desk in her study, Tendra Risant at once made up her mind. She could stay here, at home, and wonder, or she could go. Go, and see if they could make it work.

Her mind made up, Tendra set about leaving the planet as soon as possible.

* * *

99. **Anywhere...**

* * *

For a few moments in the forest on Myrkyr, Mara Jade Calrissian allowed herself to wonder about the man across from her. Would it have worked between them? She watched him sleep, listening to the forest around them, and everything fell away. No one else, no children... no husband Force knows where doing Force knows what. No complications. Would it have worked? She didn't know, and now wouldn't find out, no matter how strong the attraction.

His R2 unit beeped at her, and Mara sighed. Reality always had a way of creeping back in.

* * *

100. **But where we are.**

* * *

What is he _doing_ here? was her first thought upon seeing her husband, injured, being escorted to an air-shuttle by Skywalker and Solo. Why had he come? To look for her, or just on an errand with Solo? It didn't make any sense.

Twenty minutes later, back at Karrde's base of operations, she was greeted by her babbling daughter, who apparently had been in the care of the Wookiee. "Mama!" Everyone turned to stare as she fell to her knees and embraced her child, and banished all thoughts of Skywalker.


	82. Week 19, UDC 1

Week 19: (11.13.06) – UDC 1

* * *

91. one

* * *

Mara set the cake down in front of her son and watched as he first merely looked at it, unsure of what to do, and then reached out to touch. He stared as his hands made contact with the icing and some came off on his fingers, and then he did it again. And a third time. Letting out a laugh, Ben stuck both hands in the cake and began to both play with it and try to eat it at the same time.

When the cake was satisfactorally demolished, Mara snapped a holo. Then she took the remains away and began to clean him up.

* * *

92. three

* * *

A loud thump, a crash, and a yell startled Mara out of perusing an intelligence report and she got up to investigate. She found her son in the dining room staring at a… at her broken vase. It had been a gift from Luke. Frowning, she bent and picked up her son. "Were you running?"

His answer was hesitant. "Yes…"

"Did you mean to break the vase, Ben?"

"No."

She glanced down at the vase, suppressing a sigh. "Want to help me clean up?"

"Okay!"

She set him down and he ran to get the broom. After all… things could be replaced. People could not.

* * *

93. five

* * *

It was five years since he'd come here. Five years since everything had changed in an instant of a disappearing Force presence sending reassurance and panic… and five years since his family had been broken and tried to mend the damage of a missing person. They'd tried… with more or less success. Mostly less.

Ben bent and picked up a leaf, brown and aged, and stood there on his haunches for a long moment. Here, on Endor… it felt like she was here. "I love you, Mom." And for a moment, he thought she responded.

* * *

94. seven

* * *

Mara frowned as Luke put a plate on the table. "Seven cupcakes?"

Luke smiled as he sat down and reached for the candles. "Wanted to try something different." So saying, he placed candles in the seven cupcakes and lit them. "Make a wish?"

"For?"

"Humor me."

"You want me to blow them out, don't you?" At his barely concealed smile, Mara blew out the candles. "Now what?"

"What did you wish for?"

Mara smiled and picked up a cupcake. "That's for me to know."

"Happy anniversary, Mara."

She did the math in her head… and it didn't compute. "Which?"

"You rescuing me on Jomark."

She frowned for a moment, then stood up and pulled her chair closer to him, kissed him. "Anytime, Luke. Anytime."

* * *

95. nine

* * *

Luke stared hard at her, then yawned deeply. "Mara, it's 0600. Go away."

Mara smiled, shook her head. "On account of you sleeping for a couple weeks straight… no. It isn't." She tossed him a chrono. "Now get up. Classes."

Luke watched her go, took a long moment to collect himself, and looked at the chrono to discover that it was early afternoon. "Oh." Why had they let him sleep so long?

Mara ducked back into the room momentarily. "In answer to the fairly obvious question… because real sleep is important." She ducked the pillow he threw at her. "Nice try. Now move."

* * *

Bonus drabbles… (From other fandoms.)

* * *

91. One (Space: Above and Beyond, circa "Who Monitors the Birds?")

* * *

One question. When it came down to it, that was his conclusion. One question had led him to this moment. One question, a curiosity born of looking out a window and seeing something, a bird, that had made him wonder. One question, and the world changed, the rules changed. One question... and one kill to save himself from certain death. One question, one observation, and the tables were turned. One question, one crime committed against him but made to look like something else entirely. It didn't matter which. The result was the same, and here he was, on some planet in the cosmos, fighting to stay alive long enough to be picked up.

And as he spared a glance upward, Cooper Hawkes noted with no small appreciation of irony that a bird was flying overhead.

* * *

92. Three (Star Trek: Voyager, "Before and After")

* * *

Kes didn't immediately set about working on that report like she'd said she was going to when she finally reached the safety of her quarters. Here, away from prying eyes, she didn't have to pretend everything was normal. That everything was fine. It wasn't. She caught sight of her own reflection in the mirror and just stared mutely at it, reminded of a moment, actually some six years hence in a possible future, when she'd seen her own reflection for the very first time. For a moment, a fleeting one, voices filled the emptiness and she didn't feel quite so alone.

Sitting down on her bed, Kes shook her head. It was something she wanted, would have jumped at the chance to have, but... at what price?

* * *

93. Five (Power Rangers, "Calamity Kimberly")

* * *

What had started as a bad day had become worse rather quickly and all Kimberly wanted to do was go home, climb back into bed, and stay there until it was over. Was that too much to ask? As she banged on the walls of the jar and yelled uselessly, she knew it might have been.

Where were her friends? Did they even know?

It was only later, after the jar had broken and the Fan Man had been defeated, that she found out just what had happened. He'd been injured. Had her bad luck caused his injuries?


	83. Week 18, UDC 4 - Set A - Wave Rangers

Week 18 - 8/3/09 - (UDC 4) Set A: Wave Rangers… first loss.

* * *

86. Red

* * *

There was nothing but silence as they waited for the medical team to do their job, Red Wave wanting to step in and help them but a hand on her shoulder forbidding it. She wanted to shrug off the hand, but… what was the point? What was the point of them working on Carter when she could have told them it was pointless? "It's not going to work…"

The hand squeezed her shoulder. "You don't know that, Ranko. Wait and see. That's all we can do."

When one of the medics looked up at them with a sigh and shook their head, Ranko felt something shatter again.

* * *

87. Brown

* * *

As she stripped the body of his morpher, Red Wave couldn't help but look at him. He had trusted her, been her confidant… a friend. This wasn't how it should have ended, not like this. Not him.

Looking at her aunt who had led the medical team, she wanted to ask questions and pry into why he'd died when there wasn't so much as a mark on him. But the words wouldn't come. She couldn't ask. So she didn't, and stood up instead. There was something she needed to do.

* * *

88. Black

* * *

There was a woman in red armor standing on her doorstep. For a moment, Maria couldn't help but stare in fascination… Ranko never showed up in armor at her door. Ever. And as she took in the way the other woman was standing… "What happened?"

Red Wave winced visibly. "Can I come in?"

Mara hesitated, then stepped aside, allowing the woman entry. "Please." And if Ranko was here in armor… where was Carter? What had happened to her husband? "Come in, Ranko. Please." Red Wave hesitated, and then Maria grabbed her gloved hand and pulled her in reluctantly.

* * *

89. Yellow

* * *

She'd not been able to talk the woman all the way out of her armor… just the helmet, which was now resting on the yellow throw blanket on her couch. "Mind telling me why you showed up at my door in armor, hmmm?"

The expression on Ranko's face was morose. "I think you know."

"I'm not in the mood for word games. Tell me."

"Carter… he…" And Ranko crumpled into a crying heap in her arms, leaving Maria to stare at the walls. She didn't need to say it after all. "He… he…"

* * *

90. Blue

* * *

A blue stream of light solidified into someone else in armor and Maria sighed in relief. Finally, someone who wasn't in shock… or maybe he was, as she got a look at Peter's face. "You're staying here tonight."

"What?"

She gestured with her chin to the woman still in her arms. "I want you to stay here. No arguments. We'll talk about it in the morning."

Peter just looked at her for a moment, taken aback. "But…"

Maria rolled her eyes. "You. Stay. Her. Stay. In. Spare. Room. Understand?"

"Yes."

"Good… now help me with her, would you?"

Peter would forever be thankful that Maria had taken matters into her own hands.


	84. Week 18, UDC 4 - Set B - Luke, Mara

Week 18 - 8/3/09 - (UDC 4) Set B: Luke, Mara, and a certain lightsaber hilt…

* * *

86. Red

* * *

Luke awoke to blurriness. He blinked his eyes, trying to focus, but all he saw was a red haze leaning against the bunk. Frowning, he raised his hand to feel out what it was, and got a surprise at finding hair… "Mara?"

"Mmm… stop playing with my hair, would you?" There was a pause, and then green eyes were looking at him closely. "Oh. You're awake. Hi."

"How long?"

"Till you're in a bacta tank? Hours."

"Asleep?"

"Oh. Wasn't sleeping." She showed him something. "Reading. And stop talking, all right?"

Luke wanted to ask her questions, but the blurriness was getting worse…

* * *

87. Brown

* * *

The robe was coarse, hard under his fingers. He'd seen Yoda and Obi-Wan wear things like this, but hadn't pictured himself doing so. It felt… strange. Right, but strange at the same time. He pulled it on over his shoulders and put the hood up, and blinked at how natural it felt. Almost like a second skin.

Momentarily, Artoo beeped at him, and Luke glanced down to find the droid there, a watchful witness to this moment. And then he shook himself, reminded that there were more pressing things than this. There was someone they were going to rescue…

* * *

88. Black

* * *

She came to with a groan that really wanted to be a yowl. "What are you doing?"

Next to her in the darkness, he sighed. "Setting your leg, Mara."

That got her attention and she reached down to feel for herself, wincing at the movements. "Open or closed?"

"Closed, but if you don't stop moving, it could in all likelihood get worse."

She sighed and stopped trying to push his hands away. "Go then. Set it."

"You're sure?"

"Just do it, Skywalker."

Her scream echoed through the caverns.

* * *

89. Yellow

* * *

The meadow was filled with blossoms. Yellow ones… and Mara wanted nothing more to sit in the middle of it and enjoy the simple harmonious nature of it. Especially with him. But there were more pressing things to do than sit down and take in a peaceful moment.

Or at least… she thought there was until he pulled her down with him onto the grass. "Luke…"

"Yes?"

"Shouldn't we be seeing about that fortress?"

He pointed to the edge of the meadow, where the trees began. "It's only over that way and we can see it from here."

Had he actually pulled her down to hide?

* * *

90. Blue

* * *

The blade was blue, and at once familiar and strange. After so long, for it to be in his hands again… it didn't feel right, somehow. He'd changed so much in the years since Bespin, both good and bad. Lost so much… and gained knowledge.

Luke deactivated the blade and just stared at the handle for a moment or two. It reminder of humble beginnings and a journey and loss, this lightsaber hilt built by his father and passed to him by Obi-Wan Kenobi.


End file.
